The Muggle Exchange Program
by by10433
Summary: Minister Kingsley's new Muggle Exchange program has just been approved, and the Weasleys couldn't be more excited! An American muggle is tossed into the world of witches and wizards for the summer to learn about magic and teach the Weasley's about muggle life. What could possibly go wrong?
1. Chapter 1

It was the end of May and classes had just ended for the summer. Just two months prior, I had stumbled across a flier on one of the telephone poles while walking to one of my favorite hole-in-the-wall coffee shops. It advertised a nearly all-expenses-paid trip to England, and we would be staying for three months with an English host family. They would be responsible for 'providing a magical experience' and a welcoming environment for the exchange of cultures and new ideas. Classes would not resume again until late August and I was feeling tired and rundown from the many hours of studying for my exams, so this seemed like the perfect laid-back summer adventure. I didn't truly understand all the details to be honest, and it was supposed to start tomorrow. I would be flying to London, England for the first time, and there one of the family members would be picking me up and driving me to the home of my host family. I was to stay with them and learn about England and a whole bunch of other mumbo jumbo listed on the poster.

My original reasoning for why I had applied had been because I had never been to the UK, and the whole trip was almost suspiciously inexpensive for the quality of the experience they were advertising. If I had to live with a different family for a few months it would be fine, as long as I got to see the country and meet new people. I would miss my parents and three sisters while I was away, but this was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I didn't want to miss out. I had been in a sort of rut with my current schedule and I was excited to be doing something new and different than what I was used to.

I glanced around my small apartment, creating a mental checklist of what I might need for this upcoming adventure across the pond. I didn't know what the weather was like in England, but I had heard that it rained a lot, so I tossed my favorite green raincoat into my take-to-England-but-fold-later pile. I was wary of packing too much stuff and looking odd to my host family. There were lots of stereotypes about Americans abroad and I was not eager to confirm them. I also had a bit of a southern accent coming from Oklahoma, and some people found it endearing while others found it horrid to listen to. I hope my hosts were part of the former group.

My carry-on bag was set out for all the things I would need for getting ready in the morning, but everything else could go in the large, black, hardshell suitcase my dad had let me borrow. Some leggings would be going, running shoes of course, some t-shirts, some fancy clothes, lots of socks and underwear, a gazillion sports bras (because I hated wearing 'real' bras), my phone, watch, and laptop chargers along with my headphones. I also tossed in the book I was currently reading and a spare if I finished it before the end of the program.

Final exams had been finishing up this week, so of course my apartment was a disaster and it made things hard to find. I was usually a very tidy person, but when stress got a little high it would show by the state of my apartment. There were dirty clothes all over the floor and dishes piled up in the sink with oatmeal and pasta sauce petrified to them. The carpet was dotted with shoes and papers and charging cables, making it hard to actually see the floor beneath. But even then, the carpet underneath was covered with mysterious stains from the many renters who had lived in the space before me.

Packing continued well into the night, partly because I had procrastinated all week, and when it was time to call it quits I laid down in my bed, feet sore from standing and walking around so much. I had tidied the kitchen, living room and my bedroom, making sure that I didn't miss anything I wanted to bring to England, and also because I didn't want to return to a messy apartment in August. I took some deep breaths tried to quiet my mind and relax my tense body so that I could get some much-needed rest and let dreams of my new journey flutter through my head.

* * *

9:04 AM reflected back at me from my watch as I rolled my luggage over to the pick-up area of the airport. London was six hours ahead of the time zone I had just come from and it was quite an adjustment. I felt like I had already gone through a whole day's worth of traveling, seeing as my flight left Oklahoma City after 3:00 PM and had an hour layover in Atlanta before we crossed the Atlantic for eight hours. Back home it would be close to three in the morning, which was definitely passed my bedtime, and I could do with a little siesta before all the excitement of meeting my host family.

The flights were alright in general, economy seats, a window seat on the way to Atlanta and and aisle seat on the way to London. On the second flight a large and sweaty man was seated next to me, babbling about why we should defund NASA for faking the moon landing. I put my headphones in to try to drown him out, but alas, he was undeterred. After getting off the plane we had to find the baggage claim and wait nearly twenty minutes before they had all the luggage unloaded from the aircraft.

It was fairly warm outside today and the sound of airplanes rumbled loudly overhead as they took off to their destinations. I found an empty bench alongside the lane designated for cars picking up their passengers and pulled my luggage to the side so as not to trip anyone.

After a few minutes a small, silver sedan pulled into the pick-up lane in front of the bench I was seated on and a man with tousled-looking jet-black hair and bright green eyes rimmed with round glasses stepped out of the driver's side, which to me was the passenger side in America. That was definitely something I had to get used to! He had a friendly smile as he approached me and stuck out his hand politely in greeting.

"Hello, you must be Ms. Castles," he gripped my hand and shook it gently.

"Please, call me Clarke," I smiled back at the man and he gestured to my suitcase and backpack.

"Can I put your things in the boot?" he asked, which caused me to give him a puzzled look. Boot? The man gestured to the trunk of the car and I had to mentally smack myself. I had researched on the plane words that were different in England than they were in America and 'boot' here meant 'trunk' to me.

"Oh! Of course! Sorry, I'm still trying to understand all the lingo," I chuckled and gave the man a sheepish smile. He waved my apology off and quickly deposited my suitcase and backpack in the 'boot' of the car. I had to remind myself that the passenger side was on the left side, so I walked around the front of the car and opened the door to get in. I plopped down on the tan leather seats, immediately noticing the new car smell. It must be a rental, I figured.

"I'm Harry, Harry Potter," the man said as he got in the driver's seat.

"Nice to meet you, Harry," I grinned. "Thank you for picking me up." He returned the thanks with a sincere smile of his own. He had a British accent, much like everyone around here, and it was refreshing to listen to. Back home there was a dividing line between a slight southern accent like mine, and then the deep south accents that sounded like they were straight out of a Hollywood Western.

"It's no problem, when Mrs. Weasley said they needed someone to drive you I volunteered straight away. Her family's done so much for me that it just felt like the natural thing to do." I nodded politely, wondering who this Mrs. Weasley was.

"Who is Mrs. Weasley?" I asked, giving Harry a polite but slightly curious look. I had been told a month ago that they were working on pairing up the applicants with the families and that our information would be given to the host families, but we never received any notice about the people we would be spending an entire summer with.

"They didn't tell you about the Weasleys?" I shook my head. "Well," he sighed happily, "they are like my second family. Technically they will be after Ginny and I's wedding." I bobbed my head along to show I was listening and made a mental note of all the names had had mentioned already. "They Weasleys will be hosting you for the summer holiday and, believe me, you won't find a livelier bunch than those lot!" He chuckled as he recalled the family in question, prompting me to smile as well, even if I didn't know the family he was talking about.

"Ginny is their only daughter and my fiancée," he explained. "When we get there you'll get to meet Molly, Bill and his wife and daughter, Percy and his girlfriend, Ron and Hermione, and George. Arthur is Molly's husband and had to go into work this morning, but he should be back by lunch to meet you as well.

"Is there anything important I should know before I meet them?" I asked hopefully. He seemed to ruminate on the question for a few moments, gathering his thoughts.

"They lost a son three years ago," he began solemnly. "One of the twins, Fred, died and they're still healing. If his name comes up it might be best not to dwell too long on the topic or mention it again." I nodded in understanding, feeling awful for both the family as a whole and whoever Fred's twin was. I can't imagine losing a twin, that must have been a heart-wrenching experience.

"When are you and Ginny getting married?" I asked to change the subject to something a little happier. The question brought a small smile back to Harry's face.

"In October if we're lucky," he grinned. "Right now we're in the process of building a house and we're hoping to have it done so we can host the reception there. But at the moment we've been staying with the Weasleys."

"Well I hope it gets done in time," I beamed at him. I always loved weddings and the special atmosphere of the event. There was something about two people making a life-long commitment to each other that was just so inspiring. I had nearly been engaged myself just eight months ago, but in that case I was glad it didn't progress to a wedding.

"How was your flight?" Harry asked, making small talk to fill the silence.

"Not too bad," I reassured him. "I sat next to a very interesting man on the way here, but I did get an aisle seat."

"Way to look at the bright side," Harry praised. As we chit-chatted about this and that my eyelids were starting to grow heavy. I never slept on planes, probably some leftover trauma from my sisters taking embarrassing pictures of me when I fell asleep on family road trips, and so I was severely sleep deprived. I leaned my head against the cool window and folded my arms as I settled back into my seat. The weight of my eyelids was too much for me to fight now and so I willingly succumbed to the sweet sensation of slumber.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey everyone! This story line is something that's been in the back of my mind for a while, and I'm finally getting around to writing it all down. I'll try to upload a chapter each week and would love any thoughts or feedback y'all might have! Enjoy!_

* * *

"So who is this muggle again?" George asked as he helped his mother and sister set the dining table for the early lunch/brunch Molly had made.

"The owl said his name is Clarke Castles," Molly replied hastily as she finished tidying up around the rebuilt Burrow. They had had a rough go of things after the war, but decided to fix up the Burrow to bring some semblance of normal back. When the ministry declared that each pureblood family must participate in a sort of muggle education program, not everyone was too pleased, especially the Malfoys. It was part of the Ministry of Magic's new initiative to educate witches and wizards in the ways of muggles so that they could gain a deeper appreciation for their kind and hopefully extinguish any possibility for a repeat of the terrors Grindelwald and Voldemort unleashed.

The Weasleys took the announcement in stride and Molly and Arthur were happy to host a muggle from America and teach them about magic and also learn about the muggle world for the summer. Of course, this whole experiment was contingent upon the fact that each muggle would be obliviated at the end of the summer and not remember anything about the wizarding world, while they would retain their experiences with the muggle and hopefully learn from them. Arthur was the most excited of the bunch and was eager to learn about all the muggle artifacts he had come across and had no names for. For instance, they found a strange little white box that opened and contained two smaller white objects that were quite strange in shape. The two objects had a rounded top part and an elongated bottom part with strange holes in them. There was a symbol on the back of the box of an apple that looked like a bite had been taken out of it. It was most curious indeed.

Ginny set out the silverware and napkins while they waited for Harry to get here with their muggle. He was the only one of them who could have picked Clarke up today, since none of them could drive the newer muggle car the ministry had provided them and Arthur was currently at the Ministry. Harry had really gotten in touch with his muggle side once the war ended. He had learned to drive, took up cooking as a form of stress relief, and always kept a stash of muggle currency in his dresser just in case. Ginny of course supported her fiancé and Hermione helped a bunch too, she explained things Ginny didn't understand and what something was or how it worked. This was another reason she was excited to meet Clarke! He could help her understand Harry's muggle upbringing better, and he could also connect with Harry in a way that Ron would never be able to. As for personality, none of them knew what to expect really or what he would look like, except for Harry, who received a picture of him from the ministry worker coordinating the program, that way he could recognize him when he picked him up.

Her mother told the family a month ago that a muggle named Clarke would be staying with them for the summer, and they received an owl with his name, a few of his interests, and any special dietary or health concerns that they should know about. She hoped that he and Harry would get along, and since he volunteered to pick Clarke up from the muggle travel-port thingy Harry had tried to explain to her, that should give them plenty of time to talk and get to know each other!

"Percy, Ron! Come down here, Harry should be here any minute with our new guest!" the Weasley matriarch hollered up the stairs to the sons that were staying in the Burrow. Bill was staying at his own home with Fleur and their daughter, Victoire, and Charlie wasn't due back from Romania until tomorrow. Ginny and Harry had taken Ginny's old room while they were building their own little cottage in Godric's Hollow, and George was staying in the twins' old room after he broke things off with Angelina Johnson. Percy and Audrey were staying in Charlie's old room until Charlie returned, just enough time to meet Clarke and then return to their shared flat, and Ron and Hermione had been staying in Ron's old room. The couple were in the market for their own flat, but the search was put on hold while Ron was in between jobs and Hermione was working on a raise, or possibly a promotion, for her current position at the Ministry.

The fireplace roared to life suddenly, drawing Molly and Ginny's attention, as Fleur, Bill and Victoire stepped through the floo.

"Oh! Right on time," Molly cooed as she shuffled over to the married couple and took little Victoire in her arms, rubbing a bit of soot from the child's cheek.

"Just like I said we would be, Mum," Bill chuckled good naturedly as he pecked his mother on the cheek in greeting.

"Bill, Fleur!" Ginny greeted excitedly and wrapped the petite blonde in a tight embrace, and then her eldest brother.

"Hey, Gin," Bill greeted his baby sister with a warm smile. "Is he here yet?" Ginny shook her head and checked the clock on the wall behind them. Harry's recently added spoon was still in the 'traveling' position.

"They should be here in the next ten minutes or so," Ginny updated the pair. Just as she finished speaking, the stairs creaked and thudded as a crowd of four people came scurrying down to the ground floor.

"Is he here?" Ron asked, coming to stand next to his sister. Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother.

"Not yet," she repeated for his sake. Ron nodded as he snaked an arm around Hermione's waist. Percy, and Audrey had followed the couple downstairs but decided to help George in the kitchen with whatever still needed to get done.

"I'm excited to teach him about quidditch, imagine never having rode a broom in your whole life!" Ron said with thinly-veiled enthusiasm. Hermione gave her boyfriend a smile, but raised her eyebrow slightly at his exclamation.

"Ron, I'm sure he'll love quidditch, but what if he doesn't like to fly? What if he prefers to stay on the ground like us rational folk?" Hermione added. Ron looked down at the woman beside him and scratched his chin for a moment.

"Mione, he's a bloke, he'll love the idea of quidditch enough to at least try getting on a broom!" Ron answered as if it was obvious. Just as Hermione was about to respond, they heard the sound of tires rolling over the grass and gravel as Harry's rental car pulled up in front of the Burrow.

"They're here! Everyone, by the door, but don't crowd them," Molly called, not dissimilar to a drill sergeant, as she bustled over and handed Victoire back to her parents.

* * *

I woke from my nap as the car started to bump up and down with the little dips and unevenness of the underused road. I wiped the little bit of drool from the corner of my mouth and blearily blinked the sleep away. It was the kind of waking up you felt after a nap that was sorely needed, but it was obvious that you needed more sleep. The jet lag was palpable at this point, but I had to wake myself up and look presentable for my host family. I folded down the visor and flipped up the cover to reveal the mirror. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and ran a hand through my hair to get a few of the tangles out that I had acquired from a long day of travel.

It wasn't nearly as hot here in England as it was in Oklahoma, so I got away with a pair of light-wash jeans and a navy linen blouse with tiny, white polka-dots all over it. I had decided to wear my hair down today, which might have been a mistake on the plane, but I wouldn't have had time to make it look presentable after the flight. I brushed some of the black smudges from under my eyes that resulted from my mascara and touched up my lipstick. In general I tried to keep my makeup on the more natural side, mascara, some concealer, blush and a little eye shadow to pull it together. But the one thing I could't leave home without was lipstick.

"Nearly there," Harry announced with a smile as he glanced over to me. I stretched my legs out as far as the space in front of me would allow and shuffled a bit in my seat.

"How long was I out for?" Harry smiled again as he kept his eyes on the bumpy road.

"Maybe an hour?" he guessed. "Are you excited to meet everyone?"

"I am," I nodded happily. "I just hope they like me and it won't be too awkward since I'll be staying with them for three months." Harry nodded with a small smirk gracing his features.

"I think they're in for a bit of a shock," he laughed lightly as he steered the car to the left and they started down a gravel driveway that lead up to a tall and shabby-looking house.

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion. Harry just let out another chuckle and said, "You'll see." He parked the car and pressed the button to open the trunk, or 'boot', of the car. I stepped out and grabbed my backpack from the trunk, hauling it over my right shoulder as Harry set my suitcase on the ground and started rolling it up toward the house. I looked up at the strange building that was multiple stories tall and seemed to tower over us. I took a deep breath as I followed Harry up the steps and he gave a quick knock before the door was pulled open almost immediately. A plump woman with rosy cheeks and bright red, shoulder-length hair opened the door and immediately pulled Harry into a hug before instructing someone behind her to take my suitcase from him. She glanced over Harry's shoulder at me and froze. Her eyes were wide and she seemed confused but quickly shook herself out of whatever trance she was in and a smile replaced the shock as she made a come-in gesture toward me.

I smiled nervously and stepped into the large house, feeling overwhelmed all of a sudden at the amount of people waiting to greet us. They all seemed just as shocked as Molly had been when they saw me and there were a few whispers as I hiked my bag a little higher on my shoulder and swallowed thickly under their gazes.

"Clarke Castles?" A curly-haired brunette woman spoke up and stepped forward from the group of onlookers. I smiled and nodded at the woman.

"That's me," I said politely. The woman was a few inches shorter than me and had voluminous chestnut curls that hung down past her shoulders.

"My name's Hermione Granger," she shook my hand with a smile and then stepped back to stand next to a tallish red-headed man. Actually, they were nearly all redheads, so using hair color as a distinguishing feature to tell them apart was definitely out!

"Welcome, Clarke, to our home!" Molly greeted from beside me and gave me a tight hug. She struck me as the overly-motherly type, and in truth it was very welcome. I didn't have the best relationship with my own mother, so Molly's enthusiasm and acceptance made me feel hopeful for the fate of the summer.

"George," another very tall red-haired man strode forward and stuck his hand out in greeting once Molly had released me. He had a handsome smirk on his face as he took my hand and pressed his lips to my knuckles flirtatiously.

"It's nice to meet you, George," I chuckled at the man's antics and he waggled his eyebrows in response.

"I think I speak for us all when I say we are pleasantly surprised to meet you," he said behind a cheeky grin and tossed a smirk behind him at what I assumed was one of his brothers. I gave him a confused look and glanced around at the small crowd as some of them nodded in agreement.

"We thought you were a bloke," Ron blurted out, earning a smack on his arm from Hermione.

"Ron! She is our guest, be polite!" Molly whisper/shrieked at him. Now I realized what was going on.

"It was the name wasn't it?" I laughed easily. They nodded in agreement and smiled in apology. "It's alright, I'm used to the confusion. My mom lost a bet to my dad when I was born and they named me after my grandpa, but my mom at least got to spell it a little more femininely." I shrugged with a smirk. They all broke out into laughter at the story and I smiled too, thinking this was a good way to break the ice.

The tallest son stepped forward and offered his hand saying, "I'm Bill, and this is my wife, Fleur, and our daughter, Victoire."

"It's very nice to meet you all!" I chuckled as the little toddler waved an uncoordinated arm at me.

"I'm Percy," the curly, red-haired son stepped forward next. I shook his hand politely and gave the man a smile as his girlfriend stepped forward.

"And I'm Audrey, Percy's girlfriend," the young woman smiled at me and shook my hand as well before returning to Percy's side.

"Lovely to meet you, Audrey." Audrey had very plain features and shoulder length dirty-blonde hair which she wore in a tight, low ponytail. They seemed like a very professional couple and it was very obvious that they probably worked together and maintained a similar professional theme in their private lives.

"This is my fiancée, Ginny," Harry tapped me on the shoulder so I could turn around and greet the couple properly. I smiled widely as Ginny forwent the handshake and enveloped me in a hug, much like her mother had done.

"We're so happy to have you here for the summer, Clarke!" she said with excitement and bright, cheery eyes. "We needed another woman around here to balance things out!"

I laughed at the young woman's enthusiasm and thanked her. "I appreciate that! And I'm happy to be here!"

"Clarke, dear," Molly said from beside me. "Let's get you situated in your room before we eat. George, will you help Clarke with her suitcase and show her to Bill's old room?" The twin in question nodded happily and took the suitcase handle from Percy.

"Follow me," George smirked at me over his shoulder and I blushed slightly in response. I could already tell this man was going to be trouble. He seemed like the mischievous sort and was very cheeky as well.

"Thanks for the help," I said politely as I followed him up the never-ending staircase. He waved his hand in dismissal and smiled at me over his shoulder again.

"Don't mention it, happy to!" He pushed open the door to a room on the third floor of the house and rolled my luggage into the small room. I walked in behind him and set my backpack gently on the old mattress, causing its old, metal frame to creak. It was clear that they weren't a very wealthy family, but they certainly had children to spare! Four sons and a daughter! They must have been very busy when they were all children of differing ages. The room was on the smaller side with a window facing the south side of the house and a dresser on the right wall. The checkerboard comforter had obviously been freshly laundered and the floor looked like it had just been swept as well.

"Mum cooked some food for lunch if you're hungry," George added and I nodded in response.

"Sounds great!" I grinned and gestured for him to lead the way downstairs. The stairs groaned with our weight as I followed George down the staircase and into the kitchen. Downstairs, everyone was already seated at the incredibly long table and there were three empty seats left. George took the one beside the guy who I was pretty sure was called Ron and the other two were beside Molly at the head of the table or beside Percy. I decided on the latter and took the seat beside one of the shorter red-headed sons.

Across from me sat Harry and the only red-headed young woman of the bunch. She had had long, straight flaming-red hair and a smattering of freckles across her face that matched most of her brothers. Ginny was a beautiful young woman and seemed quite spirited as well! Harry was a lucky man, and he surely looked the part, if his goofy grin when he looked at his fiancée was anything to go by.

Bill, who was seated on Harry's right, was taller than all his brothers and had shoulder-length hair and two large scars running the length of his left cheek. Fleur was a petite blonde woman with small, pointed features and hair deftly pulled into an elegant bun at the base of her neck. The little blonde toddler bounced on the woman's lap and looked to be quite happily playing with a set of plastic keys. I smiled at the little family and they smiled and nodded back to me.

Hermione and Ron were the couple sitting at the end of the table opposite Molly and the empty seat next to her. I waved again at the couple and smiled at the brunette woman that I had met when I first entered the strange and crowded house.

"Morning Weasleys!" A voice suddenly called from the door way. A very tall red-headed man with a shorter, balding hairdo stepped into the kitchen with a bright smile and set a briefcase down on the countertop. He made his way over to the table and took his seat next to Molly at the head of the table.

"Arthur, this is Clarke, our muggle guest." Molly gestured to me and Arthur gave me a bright smile. What did she mean by muggle? Was that another British word we didn't have in America?

"Clarke Castles!" He said with enthusiasm unmatched by any member of his large family thus far, except maybe Ginny. He folded his hands in front of him on the table and leaned forward excitedly. He seemed unfazed by the fact that I was a a woman, and not a man like they had expected.

"Tell me, how are you liking England?" he asked eagerly. I smiled at the patriarch and took a sip of water from the cup at my place setting before I responded.

"It's very different from America!" I chuckled and gave them a bashful smile. "I'm still getting used to all the different words y'all use here. For instance, I've never heard the word 'muggle' before now." The faces of those around me seemed to take on a multitude of different expressions. Percy looked pale, Ginny looked like she was about to burst with laughter, and Molly and Arthur both looked like parents who's child had just discovered a secret.

"Who wants to take this one, eh?" George chuckled as he spooned some salad onto his plate. Arthur cleared his throat and repositioned himself in his chair.

"Well my dear, a muggle generally refers to a non-magical person, in America I believe they still use the phrase 'no-mag'." I thought about his words for a second or two and I felt the eyes of everyone on me.

"So," I paused while I gathered my thoughts. "A muggle is any person who's not a magician?" I tried to sum up. Ron burst into a fit of loud guffaws and was immediately silenced with an elbow to the ribs from his girlfriend, Hermione. I felt my face get hot as I realized that was obviously an incorrect assumption.

"As in, not a witch or wizard," Molly clarified with a tender smile. I blinked a few times while I soaked in her words.

"I'm sorry, witches and wizards? What do you mean?" I chuckled. I knew there were people who could trace ancestors back to the Salem witch trials and all that, but they never took it very seriously, I thought. Molly gave me a sympathetic look and tried to explain things in a way I could understand.

"This exchange program you're in, it was Minister Kingsley's idea, to help witches and wizards understand non-magical people a little better, and to also teach muggles about the Wizarding world." I blinked a few times as I digested her words. She wasn't serious right? They were obviously playing some sort of joke on the new girl.

"Right," I laughed in a kind of drawn-out fashion. Everyone looked at me like they had been one hundred percent serious, and it was starting to worry me now.

"Magic doesn't exist," I chuckled awkwardly and reached for my glass of water. As I was taking a long, nervous sip, George pulled out a wooden stick and waved it in the air as three small fireballs shot out of the end and exploded over the table in a shower of purple sparks. I barely noticed the sound of glass breaking as my cup had slipped from my grasp and shattered onto the floor.

"Now you've gone and done it, George!" Molly Weasley cried from her end of the table. "You've scared the poor girl!" She turned to face me with a gentle, motherly look and asked, "are you alright dear?" I blinked a few more times and turned to face the woman to my right.

"Um...," I gulped. "I'm.. not really sure what to say," I said honestly, my voice barely above a whisper. Could witches and wizards be real? This whole time?

"We don't want to frighten you, Clarke," she said sweetly and patted my shoulder. I mulled her words over in my mind for a minute or two while the rest of the table sat silently.

"Why now?" I asked a little hesitantly after a minute or two . "If there is such a thing as magic, and wizards and witches and stuff really exist, then why reveal it now?" Arthur cleared his throat, ready to tackle this question himself.

"Three years ago there was a war, a war within the magical community, brought about by a terrible dark wizard," Arthur began. "It lead to a final battle at Hogwarts, the school for witchcraft and wizardry, where many great witches and wizards died." Arthur looked over at his wife who had unshed tears in her eyes and took her hand under the table. "We lost our son, Fred, in the final battle."

"I'm so sorry for your loss," I said softly, looking at the couple who obviously hadn't healed entirely from the tragedy. Even if I didn't understand what was going on exactly, now I at least connected the dots from what Harry had told me in the car.

"Harry and I grew up just like you," Hermione chimed in and I turned toward the brunette who had a soft smile on her face.

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.

"My parents were dentists," she explained with a grin. "Harry grew up with his aunt and uncle who were muggles as well, and until our eleventh birthdays, neither of us knew anything about the wizarding world or magic." I listened to her words with rapt attention. She was very well-spoken and seemed like the kind of person I could really see being good friends with.

She explained just how people like her grew up knowing nothing of magic until they received a letter when they turned eleven that revealed this secretive world to them and their families, and enclosed their invitation to a special school for magical children. Molly had discretely cleared up all the broken glass while I was intently listening to Hermione, so as not to startle me again like George had.

Once Hermione had finished, Arthur filled me in on what the Ministry of Magic was and how it operated and all the different departments, each with its own important jobs. Percy, Audrey and Hermione also worked for the ministry, but I'm not quite sure what their jobs were exactly. Bill was what's called a 'curse breaker' and he regaled me with stories of his trips to Egypt and his work with the wizard bank, Green Gots, or something like that. Harry was the magical equivalent of a policeman, an aurora I think they called it? And Ginny was a chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, a professional wizards sports team. From the way they explained it, it sounded like a mixture of soccer and basketball, but played in the air on broomsticks.

"So Clarke," Bill spoke up from across the table. "What do you do for work in the muggle world?"

"I actually don't work, technically speaking," I said as I spooned some strawberries onto my plate from the ceramic bowl in front of me. "Right now I'm in veterinary school, and it doesn't give me much free time to hold down even a part-time job."

"What is a ver-vetinary?" Fleur's french accent drew a smile from me and I addressed the blonde woman as I smiled at the little girl in her lap.

"A veterinarian is like a healer for sick or injured animals," I explained with a grin.

"And there's a special school for that?" Ron asked around a mouthful of roasted veggies. I nodded and took a drink of water.

"Muggles who want to become veterinarians have to go to school until they are eighteen and graduate high school, then go to college for four years, then you have to get accepted into a veterinary school, and that is also a four year program, and if you're wanting to specialize, which I do, you have to complete an internship and three-year residency program." I finished my explanation and was met with stunned silence. All around the tables there were looks of surprise and mouths agape.

"How old will that make you when you can finally start your career?" Arthur finally broke the silence. I counted up the years in my head before responding.

"30," I replied and Ron nearly choked on a green bean at the number. Hermione smiled at me, probably knowing from her own parents exactly the amount of training muggle medical professions took.

"That's quite a commitment," Arthur said with admiration. I nodded with a smile, knowing just how exhausting and long the whole process was.

"What do you want your specialty to be?" Percy asked from my left.

"Oncology, if everything goes according to plan." I gave him a bright smile.

"What does that mean?" George asked with a curious look.

"Oh!" I chuckled, forgetting that medical terminology wasn't always understood even in the muggle world. "It's the study of cancer, so I want to treat dogs and cats diagnosed with different forms of cancer."

"Wow," Ginny sighed. "That's such a great cause!" My smile widened at the words of admiration. I loved the field and there was nothing I wanted to do more than to help those suffering with this horrible diagnosis and do everything in my power to treat them and help them live comfortably. It was my calling.

"Thanks," I grinned brightly at Ginny. "I'm excited to work with animals for the rest of my life! I've loved them for as long as I can remember." The feisty redhead eyed Hermione and threw her a devious-looking smile.

"You know who else loves animals?" Ginny piped up from across the table. "Charlie," she said with a smirk and cast her eyes quickly over to Molly, who seemed to realize what Ginny was playing at.

"Charlie?" I asked in confusion. I was pretty sure I knew the names now of everyone in attendance and I didn't remember a Charlie being mentioned.

"He's the second oldest," Percy explained from beside me as he dabbed the corner of his mouth with a napkin.

"Wait," I counted Weasleys in my head and was getting a little mixed up. "Bill is the oldest," I pointed at said Weasley who nodded in confirmation. "And then Charlie?" Nods again. "Then George?"

"Percy is the third eldest," Molly supplied with a motherly smile at the curly haired Weasley.

"Okay, Percy is the third son," I corrected. "and then George, then Ron and then Ginny?" Everyone smiled brightly and nodded their heads vigorously.

"You got it," Harry said with a grin.

"So where is this Charlie?" I asked as I popped another strawberry into my mouth.

"He'll be here tomorrow," Molly informed me.

"Tell us about America, Clarke," Hermione asked with a gentle smile. "What's your home like?" I told the group stories about my home state of Oklahoma and the blistering summers and icy winters. I told them about the tornadoes that rip cities apart every summer and the dirt that's fire-engine red from the amount of iron in the ground. It seemed like they were just as eager to learn about my world as I was to learn about theirs.

"Do you have any siblings?" Harry asked as he munched on a roasted potato. I nodded in response as I wiped my mouth on my napkin.

"I have my mom and dad, an older sister, Carly, a younger sister, Catherine, and an even younger sister, Courtney."

"Wow, all C's!" Arthur said excitedly. "Do many muggle parents name their children that way?"

"Oh no!" I laughed. "My parents are just really weird. For some reason they stuck with the 'C' theme after I was born, but it makes it hard for them to keep all our names straight." George chuckled under his breath and hooked his thumb nonchalantly in his parents' direction.

We sat there and talked for maybe another hour before I started to get tired again and was yawning every couple of minutes.

"Clarke, why don't you go and get yourself some rest, hmm?" Molly suggested with a smile. I nodded in relief at the mention of sleep, but I hadn't wanted to excuse myself before lunch was over.

"I think I might go take a nap then, after all the traveling I've done today," I said to the Weasley parents, who nodded their heads in understanding.

"I'll never understand muggle travel," Molly sighed. "Up to bed with you! I'll send someone to fetch you when dinner's ready," she offered.

"Thank you, Molly," I smiled sweetly at the red-haired woman. "Lunch was amazing." Her face pulled up into a motherly smile and she patted me gently on the shoulder as I headed up the stairs. With every step I took I could feel the need for sleep dragging me down and making it harder for me to climb the many steps it would take to reach the third floor of the Burrow. I found Bill's old room easily enough and flopped onto the bed without bothering to move the backpack that still laid at the foot of the bed.


	3. Chapter 3

While Molly was busy cooking dinner, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Harry and George sat in the living room. Bill and Fleur had since returned to their home with Victoire, who had seen enough excitement for one day, and Percy and Audrey had to go into the Ministry to finish up some work before the day's end.

"What did you all think of Clarke?" Hermione posed the question to the group. George waggled his eyebrows as he slunk back into the lumpy couch.

"She's alright," the twin smirked and folded his fingers behind his head. The woman that they had all expected to be a man was more than a pleasant surprise for him. Clarke had long, mahogany locks that coursed down to her mid-back in soft, beachy waves and hazel eyes that shone when she smiled. She had a heart-shaped face and a dusting of freckles over her cheeks and small nose that looked like it was from the sun rather than heritage. She had a set of luscious looking lips tinted in a dusty mauve that nearly had George in a trance. She had a very fit physique that began with an elegant neck and modest chest and continued down to a trim waist and mouth-watering set of hips and athletic legs that looked too good to be true. Maybe that was how most American muggle women looked, George pondered, although he really doubted it.

"Someone's smitten," Hermione smirked at the red-headed troublemaker, who only closed his eyes and smiled.

"I think she seems really cool," Ginny added. "Her life sounds super busy so I'm sure this summer will be relaxing and exciting at the same time!" Ron and Harry nodded their agreement.

"I can appreciate her dedication to her career," Hermione said with a smile. It wasn't everyday that you saw women as ambitious as Clarke or Hermione. She had heard from her parents how difficult it was to be accepted into professional medical programs and the amount of time and hard work it took to get all the way through.

"I can't wait for her to meet Charlie," Ginny snickered to Hermione. Her brunette friend just gave her a knowing smirk in response, seeing Molly's meddling side clearly in the young woman. She knew Ginny kept tabs, much like her mother, on who Charlie had been seeing, and recently he had owled her to tell her he had broken up with one of the only witches at the reserve. Something about them not being compatible or something, and Ginny was eager to find a replacement for the position. Hermione could put two and two together, she was the brightest witch of their age after all, and Clarke's interest in animals skyrocketed her to the top of Ginny's list for potential girlfriends for Charlie.

"Hey, Charlie will only be here for a week, so don't get your hopes up," George piped up to throw the two witches off the idea of setting Clarke up with his older brother. He was hoping to have a shot a Clarke first before his dashing older brother came in and swooped her away. Charlie was the ladies' man of the family, no doubt about that. He had been the Gryffindor quidditch captain during his time at Hogwarts, and witches seemed to line up down the hall just to catch a glimpse of him. That barely changed when he left for Romania, except now the only witches lining up were the ones that worked at the reserve with him, which were very few in number.

"Keep in mind, she'll be obliviated at the end of the summer, too," Harry added, causing everyone to fall into a sobering silence. It seemed like they had all forgotten about that little detail. Ginny looked down at her hands in her lap and studied her cuticles for a minute or two.

"That's unfortunate," Ron said sadly. He liked Clarke, not because he found her beautiful, even though he did, but because she was kind, lively, and took to the shock of learning about magic quite well. The group sat on the couches and arm chairs of the Burrow's living room and pondered on the events of the day and the young woman they would be hosting for the next three months. It was another half hour before Molly called out that dinner was ready.

"Who is going to fetch Clarke, then?" She asked while brushing a lock of hair behind her ear and setting the final serving dish on the dinner table.

"I can do it," George said eagerly, causing Ginny and Hermione to roll their eyes.

"Get on with it then," Molly shooed her son off toward the staircase and George didn't need to be told twice! He bounded up the stairs and made it to the top floor before knocking firmly on Bill's old door.

* * *

I was pulled out of the deep pit of sleep by a loud knock on the door. I groaned and checked my watch, which informed me it was seven o'clock PM.

"One second!" I called, my voice still thick with sleep. I slung my legs slowly off the bed and stretched my arms over my head as my spine gave a few satisfying cracks. I stood up and started to look around for my shoes, only to realize I had fallen asleep with them on. Using the small mirror on the wall by the door, I ran my fingers through my hair to remove the tangles and fixed the smeared lipstick.

"Hi, George," I greeted as I opened the door finally.

"Dinner's ready," he announced with a smile and turned to lead the way back downstairs. I followed him into the hallway, shutting the bedroom door behind me, and we made the long trek to the bottom floor. When we made it to the kitchen I noticed that there were significantly fewer people here than at lunch earlier.

"Percy and Audrey had to pop over to the ministry, and Bill and Fleur wanted to have a quiet evening with Victoire," Molly explained, seeming to have read my mind. Arthur was again at the head of the table, with Molly to his left and Ginny on his right. Beside Ginny sat her fiancé, Harry, then Ron and Hermione. George took the seat across from Harry and gestured for me to take the open one next to Molly.

I studied the dishes on the table and was happy to report there was a fresh salad, a platter of roasted vegetables similar to the ones we had for lunch, and a bowl of mixed fruits along with a couple other home-cooked dishes that were already being dug into by the Weasley boys.

"This looks delicious, Molly," I smiled sweetly at the matriarch who sent me an appreciative grin of her own. Unlike lunch, much of the conversation focused on the progress of Ginny and Harry's cottage and Ron's upcoming tryouts with the Chudley Cannons.

"We should all go flying tomorrow!" Ginny said excitedly after all this talk of quidditch. "Clarke, what do you think?" I thought about the offer for a few moments, weighing the pros and cons. It sounded like fun, no question about that! But it also sounded dangerous, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to be fifty feet in the air on a rickety broom.

"Is it safe?" I finally asked after deliberating with myself. George nudged my arm and gave me a charming smirk.

"I was a beater for Gryffindor," he said proudly. "You can ride with me and I'll keep you safe." I gave his offer a once over and then nodded.

"Okay then," I said with a soft smile, earning loud whoops from Ginny, George and Ron. Hermione and Harry both rolled their eyes at the other's antics and continued with their dinner. I answered a few questions about muggle sports, but for the most part I was allowed to sit back and listen to the Weasley siblings banter and Hermione and Molly try to reign the chaos back in.

When nine o'clock rolled around everyone had finished their food long ago and were starting to get up from the table. Ginny and Harry had said their good nights first and scurried upstairs like a pair of love-struck teenagers. Ron had a nauseous look on his face at the thought of what they might be up to, and it took Hermione pulling him upstairs with an enticing smile to make him forget the whole thing.

"Molly, can I help you clean up?" I offered, seeing as how half the table had just deserted them. The older witch smiled and waved her hand at me.

"No need, dear," she chuckled as she produced her wand. "That's what magic's for." She grinned and gave me a little wink before the dinner plates and cups rose steadily into the air. The kitchen sink turned on and the dishes formed a single-file line over their heads as they drifted over to the sink to be washed.

"Whoa," I breathed, still not quite used to the idea of magic. George chuckled at my reaction as he scooted his chair back from the table.

"How's nine in the morning for flying?" he asked as I thanked Molly for the meal and took my leave from the table.

"Sounds perfect," I smiled and started toward the staircase. "What should I wear?"

"Whatever you want," George smirked handsomely as we ascended the steps. "Probably trousers and a blouse, wind can make it a bit nippy," he explained. I nodded to show I was listening and mentally pictured in my head the jeans and t-shirt I would probably wear. George walked me to my door and bid me goodnight, winking again as he headed off to his own room. I pulled my clothes off once my door was shut and changed into a comfy pair of sweatpants and an old night shirt that used to be my dad's before I stole it.

The old bed frame creaked and groaned as I got comfortable and I made sure to set an alarm for eight o'clock on my phone, being sure to give myself enough time to shower and get ready for the day of flying on broomsticks.

* * *

Charlie Weasley gripped the old teapot that was missing its lid as he prepared to travel home. His mother had purchased the portkey for him after she told him he had to be there to meet the muggle, Clarke, that would be staying at the Burrow for the summer. His mum wanted him to bond with him and maybe impress him with his knowledge of dragons or something of that nature.

He hadn't been home in many months and he knew his parents missed him very much, if his mother's daily owls were anything to go by. The rest of his family seemed excited to welcome this muggle bloke into their home for three months, but he was rather indifferent. He had met muggles before and they never could hold his interest for very long, so he tended to simply stick to hanging out with his coworkers on the reserve.

The familiar pull of the portkey began and he spun about in the air with practiced ease as the teapot dropped him at the end of the driveway of his childhood home. He hiked his old, beaten duffle onto his shoulder as he made his way up to the house, spotting his siblings and their significant others flying around on their brooms high above, no doubt teaching Clarke about quidditch. He spied who he knew must be Hermione, because she was on the ground and he knew she detested brooms, but he couldn't make out any of the individual faces high above.

His work boots, scuffed and sporting old flame marks on them, crunched the grass and gravel underfoot as he made his way up the drive. He could hear the laughter above him and it reminded him of his time at Hogwarts when he played for the Gryffindor team. He had actually been quite good, good enough to play for England's national team, but instead he followed his heart to Romania, where the dragons were beckoning him.

Charlie was nearly directly beneath the flying group when he heard a woman's scream. He stopped and looked up to see a brunette woman hurtling rapidly toward the ground. Without a second thought, Charlie dropped his bag and sprang forward just in time to catch the woman in his arms.

* * *

The wind whipped my hair around as George steered the broom this way and that. I regretted now not bringing a hair tie, but George didn't seem to be bothered too much by it. Ginny and Ron were on a team and George, Harry and I were on the other, although I was probably more of a handicap for George. He was right though, about the wind, and I was glad to have decided on a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans and plain, powder-blue tee that tucked into my jeans. I could have worn a sweater to keep the cold off my arms, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.

George had set me on the broom in front of him and wrapped his left arm around my waist as his right hand braced the front of the broom. I had leaned back into his chest as we drifted steadily away from the ground and clenched my eyes shut. George had laughed in my ear and convinced me to open my eyes as he flew us around in wide, lazy circles. Once I was used to the feeling, he went a little faster and Hermione opened a trunk with different sized balls and a few things that looked like short baseball bats. She tossed one up to George and one to Ron and then threw the largest sized ball into the air for Ginny to catch. One smaller ball, seeming to have a mind of its own, shot out of the trunk and darted toward us. I squeaked and squeezed my eyes shut as George used his bat to smack the ball in the other direction.

I had a brief introduction to quidditch at yesterday's meals and George helped explain some of the finer details of the game while he flew us around the yard. He told me the story of Harry's first quidditch game when he nearly swallowed the snitch, which he then had to describe to me since we weren't playing with one today.

Harry and Ginny fought over the ball known as the quaffle while Ron and George had smacked the bludger at each other. We were in the air for maybe half an hour so far and I was having so much fun! George had coasted to a halt in the air and had released his grip on my waist quite a bit, seeing that I was more comfortable now on the broom. Harry called out to George on his left side to discuss a strategy for getting the quaffle away from Ginny, but while he wasn't looking a bludger came straight for us on his right side. The ball struck me with such force in my shoulder that it tipped me off the broom and George couldn't grab onto me fast enough. I screamed as I fell maybe thirty feet toward the ground and clenched my eyes shut as I prepared for impact. Of all the ways to die, I was disappointed that it was going to be falling to my death after riding a broomstick, which was impossible to do just a few days ago.

Instead of hitting solid ground like I had expected, I felt two strong arms break my fall. I slowly cracked an eye open to see the face of an extremely good-looking, red-haired man. My breath caught when we locked eyes and both of us seemed just as shocked to see the other. He had tousled hair about Harry's length and pale blue eyes that shone with surprise. He had a chiseled jaw with stubble and those classic Weasley freckles to top it off. His shoulders and biceps bunched as he held me up, and I could feel just how strong and muscular this man was compared to his brothers. He had to be taller than most of them, save for Bill and maybe George, and he was definitely the most handsome, in my opinion.

"Hi there," his deep voice rumbled and I could feel the vibrations in his chest against my arm.

"Hi," I said a little breathlessly. Just then, the rest of the group hurried to the ground and dismounted their brooms. George was the first to approach us, worry evident in his voice.

"Clarke! Are you alright?" George gasped as he reached us. The man heard the name and looked at me curiously.

"Clarke?" he asked with an arched eyebrow. I smiled softly and nodded my head. I turned my attention to the panicking twin and gave him a reassuring look, still suspended in the air by my rescuer.

"I'm okay, George," I chuckled. "Probably nothing more than a bruise." I was toning it down for his sake, obviously. That bludger would be leaving one hell of a mark! And it hurt like a bitch too.

"Charlie, will you let her down so I can check her arm?" George huffed at his older brother. He was happy to see him, don't get him wrong, but he had definitely been holding Clarke for longer than he would like. Charlie obliged and gently set me on my feet, but then caught me again as I lost my balance and stumbled backward into him.

"I'm so sorry!" I laughed nervously, but winced when his hand gripped my arm where the bludger had struck me. Before I could even blink, George had snatched me from Charlie's grasp and was looking me over to make sure I was okay. Meanwhile, Ginny flung herself at her older brother in excitement and squealed, "Charlie!"

"Hey Ginny," Charlie's deep baritone chuckled as he hugged his wriggling sister. Harry, Ron and Hermione also came up to the dragon tamer to greet him.

"Nice to see you again, Harry," Charlie shook Harry's hand once Ginny had relinquished her grip on him.

"Hey Charlie," Ron smiled at his older brother, happy to see him for the first time since last Christmas. George was still fussing over me and I had assured him multiple times that I was okay. He had promised to keep me safe if I rode with him, and now it was clear that he felt that he'd broken that promise. It was an exercise in futility as I tried to pull him out of his self-blaming spiral.

"What happened?" I heard the inquisitive voice come from behind me and I craned my neck around to see the large, muscular build of who I gathered was Charlie Weasley.

"It was probably my fault," Ron spoke up. "I hit the bludger toward George and Clarke when he was talking to Harry and he never saw it coming." Ron looked at the ground sheepishly while Hermione placed a comforting hand on his back.

"It wasn't your fault, Ron," I said softly and tossed him a sympathetic look.

"So you mean to tell me, little brother," Charlie folded his arms across his broad chest as he faced George. "That this woman was on your broom and you let a bludger hit her? Then you let her fall off your broom?" George's face grew red under Charlie's gaze and he took an imperceptible step back. Charlie wasn't really the violent type, but his stature and deep voice still struck a bit of fear into his younger brothers.

"Maybe let's head inside," Hermione suggested quietly to the rest of their group, and she, Ron, Harry and Ginny quickly darted over to where they had dropped their brooms and carried them back up to the house.

"Charlie, I'm sorry, it was an accident," George nearly stumbled over the words. Charlie merely quirked an eyebrow and said, "you sure you want to say that to me?" George blinked a few times in realization and snapped his gaze down to me.

"Clarke, I'm so sorry, that never should have happened." It was clear from his expression the he felt absolutely beside himself over what happened, so I gave him a tender smile and told him for what seemed like the billionth time that it was okay.

"I don't blame you, George. I'm okay, thanks to Charlie, and everything is fine now. Let's all go inside and grab something to drink, alright?" I gave him a hopeful smile and the corner of his mouth slowly lifted into a grin.

"Okay," he finally said with a nod, and we three began to walk toward the house once Charlie had retrieved his duffle bag.

"Ooh, Charlie!" Molly Weasley squealed in delight when we walked through the door and she wrapped her son in a tight embrace. "Let me look at you! You look thinner, have you been eating enough?" she gave him an accusing look and Charlie chuckled at his overbearing mother.

"Of course I am, mum. But working with dragons all day is tough work," he laughed as he pecked his mother on the cheek. I had been about to follow the others into the kitchen for a glass of water until I heard Charlie mention dragons.

"Dragons?" I said curiously, locking eyes with Charlie over Molly's shoulder. Molly turned to me with a smile and explained, "Charlie here works with dragons in Romania." I looked to Charlie for confirmation and he nodded with a small smirk. Molly could see that this was about to evolve into a conversation between the two of us and decided to scurry back to the kitchen where her other children had gathered.

"They haven't told you about dragons yet, I'm guessing," Charlie surmised with a grin. I shook my head in excitement, a gazillion questions flowing through my mind at once. If dragons existed, how come no one knew about them? Surely they were big enough to be seen and reported! And if dragons were real, what else was out there?

"Do you have a picture of one?" I asked hopefully. Charlie flashed me a hundred-watt smile and nodded before gesturing to the couch.

"Let's sit and I'll show you the dragons we currently have at the reserve." I followed his lead and took a seat next to him on the old, lumpy couch as he produced a wallet from his duffle. He opened the billfold and handed me a bunch of pictures with moving dragons that roared and breathed fire. My jaw dropped in astonishment at what I was seeing. The photos were in black and white, but they moved like they would if I was watching a video of one on my phone!

"That's a Chinese Fireball," Charlie pointed to the picture in my left hand. "And this one," he scooted a few inches closer to me, "is a Norwegian Ridgeback." I poured over the pictures, mentally filing away the names of the dragons. I paused when I saw a beautiful, sleek dragon. It spouted a mouthful of fire and roared in the picture. Its scales shone in the light and it moved in a more fluid-like fashion than any of the other dragons.

"What's this one?" I looked up at Charlie, who was so close now that our thighs were almost touching. He looked at the picture and smiled.

"That's a Welsh Green, they're native to Britain, and we have a breeding pair at the reserve with eggs about to hatch next week." I stroked my thumb over the picture as I studied the dragon's form.

"Charlie, I have so many questions," I sighed with a small smile while shuffling the pictures in my hand. "I don't want to take up all your time since you just arrived, but there's so much now that I'm curious about." There was nothing I loved more than learning about animals, especially ones that I had no idea even existed. Charlie sported a charming smile as I attempted to hand the photos back to him.

"Keep them," he grinned. "Maybe next week Kingsley will let me take you to Romania to see the reserve." I gasped in excitement and clasped my hands together in my lap.

"That would be amazing!" I could hardly contain my excitement. Charlie grinned at my enthusiasm, obviously not used to people caring this much about dragons.

"I'll send an owl right now then!" He chuckled as he stood up from the couch. He held out a hand for me and gently pulled me to my feet in front of him. I clutched the photos in my hand as we locked eyes again, neither of us knowing just what to say next, and it felt like we had stood there forever before George's voice finally snapped us back to reality.

"Clarke, we're all going down to the pond for a swim, want to join?" he said with a hopeful smile. I was about to say yes, after all it was hot outside and I hadn't been swimming at all yet this summer, but then I remembered that there was something I had not thought to pack.

"I would love to," I sighed, "but I forgot to bring a swimsuit with me."

"You can borrow one of mine!" Ginny chirped happily as she strode into the room, Hermione in tow. "I'm sure we're about the same size, c'mon!" The fiery redhead grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the stairs. I laughed as we trudged up to the second floor and she gave me the grand tour of her smallish room. She enlisted Hermione's help in digging through some dresser drawers to find the exact swimsuit she had in mind for me.

"I saw you and Charlie talking," Ginny called over her shoulder with a sly grin. I blushed slightly, not wanting her to think I had a thing for her brother.

"He's really nice," I said lamely, hoping that would be the end of the conversation.

"Is this the one you're looking for, Gin?" Hermione held up a scrap of red and Ginny smiled brightly before bounding over to her and snatching the swimsuit.

"Yes! Here, Clarke," she thrust the fabric into my hands and then shoved me out the door and over toward the bathroom. "Try it on!" Once I had stepped into the bathroom she shut the door behind me, leaving me alone with the swimsuit and my jumbled thoughts. It was a bright, scarlet color with a crest that would go over the left breast that read 'Gryffindor'. I stripped off my shirt and jeans, then my sports bra and underwear, replacing them with the tiny triangle bikini.

I studied my reflection in the mirror and was horrified by what I saw. My mother would have a heart attack if she saw me! I didn't have a very large chest, but it wasn't small either, and it was clear that I was a little bigger than Ginny in that department. There was no way I could let Molly or Arthur see me in this. The sides of the bottom piece tied in little bows and the back side had barely enough coverage for half of my butt. I was a runner, so I never felt insecure about my figure, except when it came to pants and swimsuits. My glutes were well-toned from strength training and so it made my backside look bigger when I wore stuff like this or super tight jeans.

I turned around in the mirror a few more times before realizing that it probably didn't matter too much if we were going to be underwater. I sighed a little and rubbed my right arm as I studied the dark bruise forming on it. It had that speckled, red and purplish look that bruises had in the beginning, and later it would turn into a sickly blue, green, yellow splotch. I slipped my jeans back on and my shirt as well before I balled my sports bra and underwear up in my hands and headed back to Ginny's room. I opened the door to see that the other two had already gotten changed in their own rooms while I was having my mental crisis.

Hermione sported a conservative-looking navy bikini, and Ginny had decided on a little black number that had a bandeau top. They had towels balled up under their arms and replaced their tennis shoes with flip-flops.

"Why'd you put your clothes back on?" Ginny quirked an eyebrow at me. I blushed a little and looked down at my feet before answering.

"Well, it's a little revealing, and I don't know if I want your parents to see me in it." The last thing I wanted was for the Weasleys to think that I was trashy. Ginny seemed to understand my predicament and grabbed a sundress from her closet and tossed it to me.

"You can put the rest of your clothes in your room and meet us downstairs!" She chirped and grabbed a small bag on their way out the door, which I'm guessing contained sunscreen and other poolside stuff.

"Alright! Thanks, Ginny," I said with a smile and quickly bounded up a floor to put my things in my room and changed into the white, halter-top sundress. Once I had found my flip-flops and a bath towel, I headed downstairs to find Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and George waiting for me.

"Let's go then!" George called and yanked open the front door. I had no idea where we were going, so I just trotted along behind the others. I noticed Charlie hadn't come with us, and to be honest I had hoped that he would. He had to be a few years older that me, seeing that I was about the same age as Percy or George and probably older than Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione. Charlie seemed more mature than his brothers, and he probably had a steady girlfriend and a job that he couldn't leave for very long. There was no way he would be interested in me, an American girl who would be going back to America after the summer was over.

We hadn't needed to walk very long before George lead us to the edge of a large pond where everyone dumped their things on the silty shoreline. Hermione and Ginny had just worn their boyfriends' t-shirts and their flip-flops, both of which they stripped off and left in a heap before sprinting into the greenish water. Ron and Harry followed shortly after, needing a few seconds more than the girls as they shucked off their t-shirts and shoes. I set down my phone and quickly divested myself of Ginny's sundress and laid it on top of my phone to keep it from overheating from the sun's rays. I kicked off my old black flip-flops and followed after George as he trudged into the water after the other two men.

When I made it waist-deep into the water, George turned around to say something to me but stopped suddenly, his mouth falling open slightly as he ogled my chest. I blushed furiously and waded passed him so that I could cover myself in the deeper water. I knew I had a good figure, but I wasn't too keen on showing it to everyone. My previous boyfriend had secretly thrown out some of my clothes that he had considered too 'risqué' and made sure that I got an earful anytime another guy glanced at me in a bar. That experience spilled over into my everyday life, and nowadays I was more averse to flaunting my body or wearing close that were too revealing.

I swam toward Hermione and Ginny, feeling the cool water swirl around my legs and soak into my hair. They were laughing and talking about the wedding when I made it over to them.

"Clarke! What do you think about light blue and peach for the color scheme for the wedding?" Ginny asked suddenly, water droplets clinging to her long, red lashes.

"Hmm, for an October wedding?" I hummed in thought. "Seems a bit more like spring colors, doesn't it?"

"That's exactly what I said," Hermione looked at Ginny triumphantly, obviously these two had talked this over before.

"Oh, but I just love the light blue idea!" Ginny whined in frustration.

"Well," I thought for a minute. "What if you paired the light blue with a few other darker colors that work well for fall weddings? Like a deep green or maybe navy?" Ginny floated in place, biting her cheek in thought.

"Brilliant! I love it!" She squealed. "Harry! We're doing light blue with navy and dark green!" Ginny shouted at her fiancé that was chatting with Ron and George maybe fifteen feet away. Harry turned around in shock and shouted back, "Dark green? Gin, are you mad?"

"What's the matter with dark green?" I asked the two women who had stuck their tongues out at the boys.

"Emerald green is a Slytherin color," Hermione informed me, a slight scowl on her face. "It's the worst house at Hogwarts and the boys obviously think we're going to pick that same shade of green. Honestly," she huffed in frustration.

"Yeah, it'll have to be darker than that ugly green," Ginny said, treading water beside me. "But I love those colors you suggested," she said to me with a smile. I smiled back at her, happy to help. We swam around for a while, relaxing and enjoying the cool water before the boys eventually ganged up on us and the splashing wars began.

Ginny and Hermione seemed to be having fun and splashed the water back at them, but I personally didn't care for splashing pond water into people's eyes and mouths. There were way too many diseases we had learned about in class for me to feel comfortable sloshing this stuff into someone's face. I tried to swim slightly out of their splashing range.

"Oh no you don't!" Harry laughed as they tried to splash the water even father to reach me. I couldn't help the chuckle that came out as their faces brightened and their wet hair hung down their faces. George paddled away from the group toward me, causing me to laugh and swim further from him.

"I'm a top-notch swimmer, Clarke!" George bellowed amongst all the laughter. "There'll be no escape!" I laughed and stuck my tongue out at the twin.


	4. Chapter 4

We had splashed around and swam to our hearts' content, which was around two hours, before we all marched back up to the tall, rickety-looking house, my wet feet slipping around uncomfortably on my flip-flops. I had my towel wrapped tightly around me and was looking through some messages on my phone that I had received from some of my sorority sisters.

Jen had wanted all of our old friend group to meet up this summer and had created a group text, so of course my phone had been blowing up while we were all swimming in the pond.

"What's that?" Ron called over my shoulder as he spotted my iPhone. I smiled up at the red-headed man who was holding Hermione's hand and bag as they walked.

"It's my cell phone," I held up the black, shiny device cased in a light pink plastic case. "It lets me talk to my friends and family, take pictures, surf the internet, play games, that sort of thing."

Ron blinked a few times, looking amazed that one little device could do that many things, and Hermione just gave a knowing smile. It was nice to know that she and Harry were more familiar with normal people things and could help explain them.

"Wow," Ron gave a low whistle, admiring the piece of technology. "I wish we had something like that! Harry and I used to use the fire to talk to some of our friends outside of Hogwarts, or else you'd have to send an owl, and that takes days sometimes to get a reply."

I arched an eyebrow at his words, carefully avoiding stumbling over a thicker patch of grass as we neared the house. "You'd think with all that magic y'all would have found more efficient ways to communicate," I mused with a smile.

"Yeah, you'd think so," Harry chuckled from in front of us, obviously overhearing our conversation. Everyone laughed lightly and stepped onto the front porch of the house, George bounding in front of us and opening the door. He bowed his head with a cheesy grin as he held the door for me, causing me to giggle softly at his antics. We could hear voices in the kitchen and I supposed it had to be Molly and Charlie catching up.

"Tea anyone?" Ginny asked, turning to the group, towel clutched about her shoulders and her wet hair dripping pond water onto the rug. Hermione scrunched up her nose before offering up a different idea.

"How about we all clean up a bit first, then we can sit down for some tea," she suggested, and she was met with nods all around. With a game plan set, everyone headed up to their respective rooms and grabbed their things for the showers. There was one bathroom on each floor, so I had waited for George to finish his shower, since mine would probably take longer, and Ginny and Hermione had to take turns with the shower on their floor. I'm not sure what Harry and Ron were planning to do though, I pondered as I wrapped my hair up in a towel and rifled through my suitcase for a clean set of clothes.

I found a pair of light-wash, high-waisted jean shorts and a navy blue shirt and tugged them both on. I pulled out my hair dryer but frowned when I couldn't find any outlets in my room. I guess wizards didn't use electricity? God thing I at least had a portable, solar-powered charger for my phone. Resolving to just run my brush through my long locks and just let them air dry into their natural beach waves, I pulled on a pair of sandals and tucked my phone into my back pocket before heading downstairs.

When I stepped into the kitchen, I found everyone there minus Harry and Ron, who must've been the last ones to get to the showers, and Hermione was pouring cups of tea for everyone.

"Clarke?" she held up a mug and gave me a questioning look. I shook my head with a smile and stepped further into the room.

"Thank you, but I'm actually not a very big fan of tea," I explained, blushing slightly. I knew tea was pretty popular in England and I didn't want to be rude. "Do y'all have any coffee?" Hermione looked over to Molly, who shook her head with a apologetic look.

"Sorry, dear," She said in her usual motherly manner. "We never drink it, and so never keep any in the house." I tried not to let my disappointment show on my face. After four years of undergraduate and two years of vet school, I had become quite dependent on that precious brown liquid, and even got headaches if I went too long without any.

"If you want," Charlie's voice sounded from the other side of the kitchen, across from where Molly sat at the kitchen table. "There's a little cafe in diagon alley that sells coffee. I could take you if you want?" He sent me a charming smile and I couldn't help the one that instantly crept onto my face.

"That would be great!" I said happily, causing Charlie's grin to widen and Ginny to let out a little snicker toward Hermione, who simply smiled sweetly at the gesture.

"Since when do you drink coffee?" George asked, eyebrow raised at his older brother. Charlie shrugged with a smile.

"The guys at the reserve turned me onto it," he replied easily. "The Romanians drink a lot of coffee, and I have to admit that I've started to crave the odd cup every now and again."

"Well then, let me go grab my wallet-" I turned to head back up the stairs before Charlie interrupted.

"Don't worry about it, my treat," He smiled brightly as he stood up from his seat and made his way over to where I was standing. "Plus, they wouldn't take muggle money anyway," he smirked, and it dawned on me that wizards and witches used a different form of currency, even different from British pounds that I had made an effort to exchange at the airport before Harry had picked me up.

"Oh, well, thank you then," I smiled softly at the dragon tamer. "Do you have a car?" I asked. Laughter erupted from all of those around and I gave Charlie a quizzical look. He just smirked and shook his head.

"We'll be apparating there," he explained, but this only made me more confused. "Don't worry, I'll show you." I looked up at the handsome face, studying him for a moment before I finally gave a slow nod.

"Okay," I said hesitantly, not sure what I was getting myself into.

"Wait!" Hermione called to us, setting the tea kettle down and pulling her wand out of her pocket. She aimed her wand at me and gave it a quick flick, causing my hair to blow off of my shoulders and ripple behind me, as if stirred by a strong gust of wind. Once it had settled against my back again I checked to see what had happened and was surprised to see my wet hair was dry now! As if it had air-dried completely in its natural way!

"Whoa," I chuckled, brushing a lock behind my ear. "Thanks, Hermione!" I smiled brightly at the witch, who smiled in return and stowed her wand in her pocket once more.

"Shall we?" Charlie held and arm out to me and cautiously I took it. All of a sudden I felt this terrible pain in my stomach and it was as if my body was being stretched in all sorts of directions and crumpled into a tiny ball all at the same time. A second later it stopped and I was stumbling into to Charlie as my eyes adjusted to the bright light. He caught me easily, arm wrapped around my waist and holding me tight to his side. My head was spinning and I couldn't focus my eyes for some reason, everything just looked bright and blurry. I had my hands braced against the hard planes of Charlie's chest and abdomen and I felt a jolt of heat spread through my body and my cheeks flush.

"Alright there, Clarke?" Charlie's deep baritone sounded in my ear. I shivered slightly as I felt his breath ruffle a few strands of my hair as he spoke. I nodded after a moment, the shapes of the world coming back into focus and I could clearly see the face above me, a concerned look upon it. I gave him a small smile and blinked a few times, leaning back a bit and he loosened his grip on my waist.

"Yeah, I think so," I said as he released me completely. I took a slightly unsteady step back from him as my eyes cast about the alley we found ourselves in. I could see people criss-crossing passed the mouth of the alley, most looking like they were wearing capes of some sort and tall pointed hats. This seemed a little impractical for the summer heat, but maybe they had magic clothes that didn't get hot in the sun or something.

"Ready?" Charlie's voice spoke up from beside me as he gave me a curious look to see if I was truly okay. I smiled brightly at him and gestured toward the street in front of us.

"Lead the way." I followed close behind him as he lead us out of the small alley and into the throng of people. It seemed to be pretty busy and I was getting bumped and shoved as I tried to keep up with his long strides. Charlie glanced over his shoulder at me, seeming to notice the heavy foot traffic had started to slowly separate us, and he paused for me to catch up. He placed a large, warm hand at the small of my back and lead me over to a shop on the left side of the alley, a little ways down from where we had teleported to. The sign over the shop read "Greemish's Tea House", and I gave Charlie a puzzled look. He caught on to what I was thinking and opened the door for me with a smile.

"Don't worry, I come here for a cup of coffee when I visit, so it's not just tea," he reassured me. We walked into the tea shop and stood in the long line in front of the register. The place was packed and there was a dull roar from all the conversations going on around us.

"Charlie? Charlie Weasley?" A woman's voice from across the shop said in surprise. I looked over to where the sound was coming from and spotted a tall, blonde woman sitting with a friend and enjoying a cup of tea. She was looking at Charlie in shock and quickly stood up, a bright smile on her face, and sauntered her way over to us. Charlie had also noticed the woman, but his reaction was one of unease rather than excitement.

"Alice," Charlie greeted hesitantly as she flung her arms around the dragon tamer in a hug. I raised my eyebrows slightly and took a step back, not wanting to be knocked over by this overly enthusiastic woman.

"It's been too long!" the Alice woman cried cheerfully as she released him. Charlie rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably and nodded slightly.

"Yeah, it has, hasn't it?" He cast a wary glance at me, the look on his face one of embarrassed apology.

"Care to to join us for a drink at the Three Broomsticks later?" She gestured to her friend still sitting at the table they had been occupying. Charlie held his breath for a moment, racking his brain for excuses, when his eyes fell on me again. His eyes twinkled with a mischievous glimmer before he reached an arm out, snagged my waist and drew me tight to his side.

"Actually, we have plans later on today, but thank you for the offer," He said politely. Alice, who had just now noticed my existence, cast a cold glare down at me.

"Oh," she said slowly, looking me up and down with an unimpressed look on her face. "Is this your girlfriend?"

"Yes!" Charlie blurted before I could even register the woman's words. I looked up at Charlie in surprise but his face made me school my features and decide to just play along with whatever he had just gotten us into.

"Clarke, this is Alice Beardsly, an old friend from Hogwarts." He gestured to Alice and I gave her a polite smile.

"Nice to meet you," I said, a fake smile on my face that I was hoping was convincing enough. She looked up at Charlie after I spoke and looked like she was about to laugh.

"An American, Charlie?" She scoffed haughtily. "You always were full of surprises."

Now, I was always taught to be polite in public, always be kind and turn the other cheek. But I'll be damned if I let this horrid woman insult the country I call home.

"Excuse me?" I said, all traces of a smile gone, and the conversations nearest to us to dropped off.

"What?" She responded, obviously shocked that I had mentioned anything about her rude comment.

"That was rude, and you should apologize," I said flatly. My mom always told me I should have been a lawyer based on the way I could remain cool under pressure and talk my way out of almost anything. Alice looked shocked and now even more of the tea shop fell silent, watching the show.

"Apologize? I don't understand." She said sweetly, casting a look up at Charlie as if asking for help. Charlie just raised an eyebrow at her and had a sort of satisfied smirk on his face as he watched Alice becoming more flustered by the second.

"To judge someone based on their accent or where they come from is one of the most immature and ridiculous forms of bigotry. I have met nothing but nice and kind people in this country, and I'm sad to see there are people like you who besmirch the rest of this community. You should be ashamed of yourself."

Silence. Absolute silence followed and Alice's face was so red she looked like someone had replaced her head with a tomato. She gave a frustrated shriek of indignation and pushed passed Charlie to exit the tea house, her friend following quickly after. There were dozens of eyes now on Charlie and me as we stepped closer to the register as people finished ordering their drinks.

"Wow," Charlie breathed as the conversations in the shop started to pick up again. He gave me an astonished and impressed look, a smile curling the edges of his mouth.

"I don't think I've ever seen someone stand up to Alice's brand of rudeness that way before. She was an old flame from Hogwarts and I remember how horrible she was to some of the other students."

"I've found that the best way to deal with bullies is to call them out in public. If you draw attention to what they've done in a place with nowhere to hide, it sends quite the message," I said simply, a small smirk on my face as we moved forward in the line again. Charlie seemed to think about it and nodded his head in agreement.

"That does sound like an effective solution," he chuckled. I studied the small menu on the wall behind the register, not seeing anything very familiar. There were strange ingredients and odd flavors that one would never find in a Starbucks. When we finally stepped up to place our orders, Charlie ordered a coffee, black, with a little sugar, and I opted for a generic latte. Charlie handed the cashier a handful of small coins and lead us over to a recently vacated table on the left side of the shop.

"So, tell me about yourself," He said easily, leaning forward slightly over the table with a bright smile. "I missed all the introductions yesterday." I chuckled and nodded, folding my hands together on the table.

"Well, I'm a vet student, meaning I'm going to school to learn how to heal animals, I have three sisters, I'm from a state called Oklahoma, and I hate watermelon." His smile widened and I could see two perfect rows of pearly white teeth that made his smile that much more blinding.

"A healer for animals, huh?" Charlie mused, rubbing the stubble on his chin in thought. "Is that why you were so excited about dragons?" I gave him a sheepish smile and shrugged my shoulders.

"What can I say? I love animals," I smiled softly.

"Here you are, dears," an older woman came up to the table and set our drinks down. I smiled at the woman and mumbled a quick 'thank you' before picking up my cup to take a sip. Charlie seemed to be studying me for a few moments before he too picked up his coffee.

"I wrote to Minister Shacklebolt this morning, asking him about bringing you to the reserve, and I got a response from his secretary just before you came downstairs earlier." I nodded to show I was listening as I took a slow sip of my hot drink, deciding the flavor was a little different than what I was used to, but not too bad.

"He approved it," he said with a wide grin. I felt my cheeks pull up into a smile of their own and I sat my cup gently on the table.

"That's great! Charlie, thank you so much! This is so exciting!" I tried to keep the bubbling enthusiasm to a minimum, but it was difficult. I would be going with a devastatingly handsome dragon tamer to Romania to see actual dragons! This summer was turning out to be one of the best I had ever had in my life.

"When would we be going?" I asked excitedly.

"Hmm," Charlie hummed, eyes cast to the ceiling in thought. "It would depend on how soon we can get Norberta contained again." He had a glum look on his face now, obviously something about this dragon was causing him some grief.

"What happened?" I asked gently, not wanting to prod too much, but still curious.

"Well," he heaved a sigh and took another sip of his coffee. "She's been acting all strange lately, spooks easily, thrashing her head and flying around the reserve in big circles." I pondered what he was telling me, a few thoughts coming to the forefront of my mind.

"Does she have a head tilt?" Charlie looked at me in surprise and then slowly nodded.

"Yeah, it tilts slightly to the right."

"Does she fly in circles to the right? And when she gets scared easily, is it because she's approached from the right side?" Charlie looked very surprised and confused at the same time, nodding to each of my questions. I smiled to myself as I came up with an idea. We had talked about this in class, but I don't know if it works the same way in dragons as it does in dogs.

"It sounds like a vestibular problem," I said finally, taking another sip of my latte.

"A what?" He asked in confusion.

"Tell the dragon healers to check her right ear for an infection." Charlie looked at me with mild suspicion.

"I'll owl Dimitri then," he said slowly, giving me an odd look. We finished our drinks in relative silence before Charlie stood and gestured toward the door.

"Thank you for the coffee, Charlie," I smiled up at him as he held the door open for me again. He smiled back and waved it off.

"Don't mention it." We walked back into the crowded street and instead of backtracking the way we had come, Charlie tugged my hand to lead us in the opposite direction.

"Where are we going?" I asked, walking quickly beside him.

"To send that letter," he smiled over his shoulder at me and pulled me into a store to our right. It was full of owls of all shapes and sizes, stationary ready for letters to be written on and a collection box for the money. I ducked quickly as a tawny owl swooped low over our heads, missing Charlie's head by an inch or two.

He walked up to a desk and pulled out a quill from the desk drawer and then felt around for an ink bottle. He rummaged around and searched some of the other desks as well.

"Damn," he sighed, looking frustrated.

"Why don't you just use a pen?" I asked quietly. He arched an eyebrow at me, so I pulled out my phone and googled an image of a standard ballpoint pen. He studied the image for a minute and then pulled out his wand, conjuring the pen out of thin air. He tested the writing utensil on the parchment and then quickly began composing the letter to Dimitri. When he was done, he sat the pen down, found an owl perched on a stand with a plaque underneath that read 'International' and tied the rolled up paper to its leg. He then fished around in his pocket and deposited a silver coin in the collection box.

"Thanks for the pen idea," he said finally, motioning toward the door to the shop. "I don't know why everyone doesn't use them, its so much easier to write with!" I laughed heartily at his words as we stepped out of the store and started making our way back down the street again.

We made it back through the crowd and into the little alleyway that we had landed in and Charlie turned to me with his arm outstretched. I glanced at the arm and didn't move, looking up at him with a worried look.

"What's wrong?" Charlie asked, a concerned look now gracing his features.

"When we teleported last time, it kind of hurt and I didn't like it very much," I said softly, studying the pink nail polish on my toes. I felt his hands grip the tops of my arms and I flinched slightly when he touched the spot where that bludger had hit me.

"Why didn't you tell me that before?" He asked, a gentle smile on his face. I looked up at him, feeling silly all of a sudden for making such a big deal out of this. Maybe I had just overreacted last time?

"Never mind," I said, shaking my head with a smile. "It wasn't that bad. Let's just head back to the burrow." Charlie gave me an inquisitive look before stepping back and offering me his arm like he did the last time. I placed my hand on his arm like I had done before and felt that painful sensation in my stomach again. This time, however, it was much worse. My head screamed in pain and my limbs felt like they were being ripped off my body. I cried out when we landed in the front yard of the burrow again and Charlie caught me as my legs crumpled beneath me.

"Clarke!" Charlie called in surprise. I felt something wet drip from my nose and swiped at it with the back of my hand, blood shining brightly on my skin. My eyes were unfocused and my breathing was increasing as well. I felt my head becoming fuzzy and my extremities were becoming cold as Charlie held me up by my arms.

"Hang on," He said softly and scooped me up into his arms, not unlike how he had held me when we first met this morning, and quickly strode up to the house, kicking the front door open.

"Oh my!" Molly nearly shrieked when she saw her second eldest carrying the limp body of the muggle that was supposed to staying with them for the summer.

"Charlie! What happened?" She cried as she moved the pillows off the couch for Charlie to set me down.

"She said that apparating was painful and when we disapparated from Dragon alley she just collapsed," he explained in a rush. Molly clicked her tongue as she looked me over.

"The poor dear," she tutted as she pulled out her wand. It was clear that they thought I was out cold, but I was still very much conscious, I just couldn't bring myself to talk or move at the moment.

"She tried to tell me and I should've found a different way to get home, we should've flooed, or maybe taken the night bus, or-"

"Charlie Weasley," Molly scolded him. "I know you fancy the girl, so stop fussing and go get a glass of water for her for when she wakes up." He nodded and quickly headed for the kitchen while Molly cast some sort of spell over me, making me feel more at ease and helping the pain in my head and stomach subside. My brain was still turning over the words Mrs. Weasley had said a moment ago, that Charlie fancied me, and for some reason I felt my cheeks get warm. Did Charlie like me, like, actually like me?

I knew that I had a little crush on him, I mean, who wouldn't? But the woman in the shop was gorgeous, and I felt that I looked pretty plain compared to her. I had a more squared jaw, courtesy of my dad's genetics, and an athletic build. I ran quite a lot and my sisters joked that I ran my boobs off, so my figure was more of a lumpy 2x4 wood plank rather than a perfect hourglass. This obviously was an exaggeration, I had B-cups and enough of a butt to fill out yoga pants, so I never really put much stock into their teasing.

But was that enough to draw the attention of Charlie Weasley? George had certainly shown an interest in me, that was obvious, but I still didn't know what to make of him just yet. George was funny and made me laugh, he was energetic and liked to have a good time. He was someone I could see becoming close friends with, but I couldn't say if that would or wouldn't evolve into something more.

Charlie, however, was handsome and rugged, he was mature and seemed like he had a good head on his shoulders. Each time his skin brushed mine I felt a little jolt of electricity, and his eyes and smile would definitely be featured in my dreams tonight. It also didn't hurt that he was extremely muscular, which just so happened to be my type. But those kinds of guys could be dangerous when they got drunk or angry, my ex being the prime example, and I didn't know enough about Charlie to tell if he was one of those types.

Molly's spell was clearly doing the trick, my pain was almost gone and my head felt heavy, like no matter how much effort I put into it, I couldn't lift my head from the couch. I could hear muffled voices and couldn't be bothered to try to listen to who's they were or what they were saying. So instead I let the thoughts of George and Charlie Weasley flutter around my brain as I slowly drifted off into the numbing embrace of sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

I awoke to the sound of whispered conversations and the distant clinking of dishes. Cracking a tired eye open, I gazed up at the ceiling of the Weasley's living room and slowly turned onto my side. The voices sounded like they were coming from the kitchen, which was on the other side of the couch, but I couldn't gather the strength yet to sit up to see who was talking.

"That's twice today she's been hurt, Ron," a feminine voice whispered in a chastising tone. Based on the context it was easy to identify the voice of Hermione Granger.

"Well what did you expect? Bringing a muggle into the wizarding world wasn't bound to be a walk in the park," a man's voice replied. This one was most likely Ron, I guessed.

"It was Charlie's fault," and indignant voice said in a hushed tone. "If you ask me, she should stay here. Who knows what the dragons will do to her?"

"Oh George, come off it!" A different woman's voice nearly shrieked, definitely Ginny. "If she wants to go to Romania with Charlie then she can."

"Dinner's ready everyone," the whispered announcement from the Weasley matriarch interrupted, halting all other conversations. I chose this moment to slowly try and sit up, holding my head in my hands as my vision swam slightly.

"Oh good, you're awake!" Ginny cried as she came to stand in front of me, holding a hand out for me to take. I smiled at the youngest Weasley and grasped her hand, feeling myself being pulled from the couch.

"Thanks, Ginny," I said sleepily, covering my mouth as I yawned. I silently followed the spirited young woman as she trotted into the kitchen and took her seat next to Harry at the table. The only open seat left was between Hermione and George, so I quickly pulled out the chair and sat down. I looked up to see that Charlie was seated across from me and he was doing everything he could to keep from meeting my eyes.

"Clarke, how are you feeling, dear?" Molly asked from the head of the table next to Arthur. I took a sip of water from the cup at my place setting and wiped my mouth before responding.

"I'm doing a lot better now," I said with a small smile. She gave me a little grin and spooned some roasted potatoes onto her plate. My stomach grumbled, alerting everyone at the table that I hadn't eaten in quite some time.

"You gave us quite the fright!" Arthur chuckled as he cut into his steak.

"Oh, sorry about that," I blushed as I piled salad and some fruit onto my own plate.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," George said confidently from beside me. He used his fork to point at Charlie and scrunched up his nose. "It's that bloke that should be sorry." I glanced over to Charlie, who was looking frustrated with his brother, and eventually caught my eye.

"I am sorry about what happened, Clarke. I had no idea that muggles couldn't apparate well with wizards." Charlie had a sad look in his eyes, and it was clear that he thought it was his fault.

"Charlie, it's okay, I promise!" I said with a slight chuckle to ease the mood. "I didn't know either, so it's nobody's fault, we just know now for next time." The corner of his lips tugged upward in a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Arthur, how was your day, Love?" Molly asked her husband, trying to change the subject.

"Very interesting, I must say," he mused after swallowing his mouthful of potatoes. "Some pranksters conjured a swarm of bats to harass a couple of unsuspecting muggles at a park in Kensington." There was some laughter and snickering around the table, but I didn't think it was that funny. Bats had been known to carry rabies, and I would certainly feel panicked if I was set upon by a whole swarm of bats in broad daylight.

"Harry, Ginny," Arthur addressed the couple to his right. "How goes the cottage?"

Harry sighed as he pushed his glasses further up his nose. "They've finished the frame and the exterior walls, and they're about to start on the interior walls and flooring soon I believe." Arthur nodded his head as he took another bite of his dinner.

"And Hermione? Ron? Any luck in the job department?"

"Well," Hermione started slowly as she gripped Ron's hand under the table. "I was waiting to tell you all, but I received a letter from my department earlier today..." she trailed off, looking up at Ron next to her, who gave her a nod and a smile. "And I got the promotion!"

Cheers and congratulations rang out from every direction, everyone obviously very proud of Hermione.

"You are now looking at the official undersecretary of the Department for the the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures," she said excitedly. I smiled, happy that she had gotten a promotion, even though I didn't understand exactly what her job was to begin with.

"Oh! We always knew you could do it, Hermione!" Molly's sweet voice sounded from down the table, causing the young witch to blush with pride. As the chatter died down a bit, Ron cleared his throat and squared his shoulders as if he had his own announcement to make.

"Trials for the open keeper position for the Cannons is in two days," he said in a mixture of excitement and worry. Harry clapped his friend on the shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.

"You'll do brilliantly, Ron," he smiled at his best friend of ten years. Ron gave him a lopsided grin and squeezed Hermione's hand that he still held under the table.

"Thanks, mate," he said softly as he downed a bit of his drink.

"Clarke," Molly called over to me above the chatter. I peeked around George and found the expectant smile of Mrs. Weasley.

"Yes?" I asked politely.

"Ginny and Harry had taken a few days off of work to meet you and spend some time with the family before they have to return to their normal work hours," she explained, gesturing to her daughter and soon-to-be son in law. "George here determines his own schedule as he runs his own shop and can return whenever he likes, and Hermione...?" Molly gave the brunette woman an inquisitive glance.

Hermione swallowed her mouthful of food and wiped her mouth before responding, "I only asked for three days off, so I'll be going back to the office day after tomorrow." Molly nodded gratefully and turned back toward me.

"So I'm not sure if we'll have much for you to do around here for the next few days before you and Charlie are off to Romania, that is if you still plan on going." The end of her sentence trailed off like a question that was intended for me to answer. I nodded my head with a smile and glanced quickly at Charlie.

"That's alright if y'all don't have much going on around here, I'm pretty good at entertaining myself. And I still plan on going to Romania, if that's still alright with you, Charlie." I looked at the man across from me, who returned my gaze with surprise.

"Of course," he blurted immediately, seeming astonished that I had even asked the question. His lips turned up in a smile, and this time it did reach his eyes, drawing a similar one from me. Unbeknownst to the two of us, Molly and Arthur shared a look at the end of the table and Ginny elbowed her fiancé with a devilish smirk on her face.

"Maybe you could try the floo next?" Hermione suggested, breaking the spell that hovered in the air between me and the dragon tamer.

"An excellent idea, Hermione," Arthur cried cheerfully, stabbing a potato with his fork. "I'll pop by the Department of Transportation tomorrow after work and see if we can't have our floo authorized for one-time international travel."

"Well, now that that's all settled," Mrs. Weasley began. "Charlie, we're trusting you to take good care of Clarke. We've already had one too many accidents here. I don't know what I'd begin to tell Kingsley if something were to happen to her."

"Of course, mum," Charlie chuckled, cutting off his mother before she could continue her worried rant. She always worried about her children, and losing one had made her all the more watchful. The rest of the dinner dissolved into easy chatter about work-related events, who was doing what these days, and someone called the 'daily prophet'? Once everyone was done eating, again I asked to help clear the table, and again Molly refused me with a motherly smile. I knew that she would, but my mother would kill me if she knew I hadn't at least offered when they were providing all my meals for me this summer.

"Hey Clarke!" George called as he was heading out of the kitchen with Ginny, Harry, Hermione, and Ron. I turned toward the singular twin, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah?" I asked, a bit of my southern accent creeping through.

"We're gonna have a bit of fun before Harry and Ginny go back to work tomorrow, you in?" he asked with a hopeful grin.

"That depends on what you mean by 'a bit of fun'," I chuckled, walking toward him and the others. He held out his arm with a charming smirk and lead me into the living room where the others were setting out a bottle of liquor and some glasses.

"Just a little firewhiskey and pleasant conversation," he batted his eyelashes innocently, a devious little smirk threatening to pull at the corner of his lips. I eyed him warily, trying my best not to smile and give him the satisfaction of knowing I was a sucker for social drinking.

"I suppose," I said slowly, allowing him to lead me over to the couch that I had slept on for half the day after the teleporting accident. I took the seat in the middle, Hermione on my left and George taking the seat to my right. Ginny was perched on Harry's lap in one of the arm chairs and Ron was sitting on the floor next to Hermione, pouring the glasses for those present. I heard heavy footsteps behind us and turned my head just in time to see Charlie's form edging around the couch.

"Room for one more?" Charlie smiled, setting his own glass on the coffee table in front of the couch and sliding it over to Ron.

"Of course, Charlie!" Ginny practically shouted in excitement, it wasn't often that Charlie was home, and even less often that he would drink with them when he was. He much preferred to drink down at the Leaky Cauldron and pick up lonely witches. A fire was lit in the fireplace behind where Charlie took a seat in the unoccupied armchair, casting shadows over the the chiseled angle of his stubbled jaw. His eyes seemed to sparkle in the firelight as they found mine, his hand gripping his now-full glass that Ron had just passed him. My chest felt tight and my cheeks grew hot as I diverted my eyes, not feeling like now was the time to fall into the intense gaze of the second-oldest Weasley.

"Try this," George said suddenly, pushing a glass half full with amber liquid into my hand.

"What is it?" I asked, swirling the drink around and smelling a hint of cinnamon.

"Firewhiskey," Hermione supplied from my left, taking a small sip from her own glass as Ron leaned against her legs. I eyed the glass and finally took a hesitant sip, a burning feeling lighting up my throat and the overwhelming taste of cinnamon flooding my poor, unsuspecting tastebuds. This tasted exactly like fireball whiskey, only ten times worse! And on top of all that, there wasn't a single flavor on this planet that I despised more than cinnamon. I choked violently as I swallowed my small sip and had to set my glass down as I broke into a fit of coughing. George patted my back soothingly and moved my hair out of my face.

"Clarke, you alright?" Harry asked, concern evident on his and everyone else's face. I nodded quickly, coughing a few more times into my elbow.

"I wasn't expecting that," I croaked finally, causing the others to laugh. I chuckled with them, pushing the glass away from the edge of the table and turning to look at George.

"Do y'all have anything else to drink?" I asked hopefully. George thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.

"I don't think so," he said. "But I'm sure we can conjure something if you show us a picture of it." I smiled brightly and pulled out my phone from my back pocket. Opening Safari, I quickly searched for the image I had in mind. Finding what I wanted, I showed the expensive bottle of cabernet to George, who concentrated on the picture while pulling his wand out of his pocket. He gave it a little flourish and the bottle in the picture appeared on the coffee table, causing me to gasp in both surprise and delight.

"Thanks, George!" I said brightly, grabbing the neck of the bottle. George stood up from the couch and gestured back toward the kitchen.

"Lets go find a corkscrew and a wine glass for you then!" he chuckled and pulled me to my feet. I grinned and quickly followed his lead, bottle secured in my hands as if it would disappear just as easily as it had appeared. George waved his wand again, saying, "Accio corkscrew." Suddenly, a drawer opened and the metal corkscrew flew through the air and into George's waiting palm. My mouth sagged in awe as he smirked and took the bottle from my hands, twisting the cork out and fetching a glass. He nodded his head back toward the living room, wine and glass in hand, and I again trotted after him, taking my seat on the couch once more.

"Here you are, love," George poured me a hefty glass full of the dry, red wine and handed it delicately to me. I smiled sweetly and took the glass from him, saying a quick thank you before I took a sip. I closed my eyes and grinned, remembering the taste of the wine that I had had at my graduation party, a gift from my grandma.

"Happy?" George whispered to me, settling back into the couch and slinging his left arm around to rest along the back of it. I nodded and returned his smile.

"Very!" I whisper/giggled back, taking another long sip and relaxing into the old, tattered sofa.

"How about a game?" Ginny said, repositioning herself on Harry's lap.

"Like what?" Ron asked, taking a hearty swig from his glass of firewhiskey. Ginny hummed and scratched her chin as she thought. A minute or so passed before I suggested, "Quarters?" All eyes turned to me, looks of either confusion or intrigue glancing up at me.

"You know, quarters," I said, as if it was self explanatory. It was the go-to drinking game at my college when you had friends over for drinks and didn't want to commit to anything super complex or involved.

"What's 'quarters'?" Ginny asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"It's a drinking game, you just need two quarters and two small cups," I explained. The odd looks persisted.

"What's a quarter?" Harry asked this time. Hmm, if Harry was raised as a muggle and knew about muggle currency, but he still didn't know what a quarter was, that meant it was not only a muggle thing but also an American thing. I mentally facepalmed when I remembered that quarters are part of the American currency system, so it made sense that they had never heard of them or the game before.

"Hang on!" I said suddenly, an idea coming to mind. "George, can you find two small bowls or cups of the same size?" I asked as I headed quickly up the stairs, looking behind me for a split second to see if he had moved from the couch. He of course did so and was en route to the kitchen to fetch what I had asked for. Meanwhile, I ran up two more flights of stairs before reaching my temporary room and threw open the door. I still hadn't unpacked fully, I was meaning to do that, but now that I would be leaving for Romania, it might as well stay as it is for now. I dug around in my purse for loose coins and smiled as my hands closed around a handful of change. I sorted out a few nickels, dimes, and pennies, reserving two quarters and stashing them in my pocket before I headed back downstairs.

By the time I reached the others, George had found two small cocktail glasses and had placed them on the coffee table in front of where I had been sitting. I fished around in my pocket and triumphantly produced the coins I had mentioned earlier.

"These," I pointed to the two silver coins, "are quarters. We use them in America to represent twenty-five cents. In this game, you bounce the quarter into the glass, like this." I bounced the coin face-side-down on the table and watched as it bounded perfectly off the table and into the glass, a satisfying clink ringing out.

"So then, is it just who ever gets the most quarters in the cup?" Hermione asked, intrigued by the game. I glanced up at the brunette and shook my head with a smile.

"Nope!" I handed Hermione one of the cups and the other quarter. "You and I will try to bounce our quarters into our cups at the same time, if you make your coin in the cup before me, you pass your glass with the quarter in it to the left, which would be to Ron. If I get my coin in my glass before you, I pass my cup with the quarter inside to Ron, which means you have to take a drink and keep trying until you get the coin in the cup so you can pass it to the left."

"Ooh, this sounds fun!" Ginny squealed, hopping off Harry's lap and getting closer to the coffee table with her knees planted firmly in the shaggy rug.

...

Multiple rounds and a whole bottle of cabernet later, my vision was starting to become fuzzy as I tried to bounce my quarter into my glass amongst the yelling around me.

"Go, Clarke! He's almost got it," Ginny slurred, pointing frantically at George, also highly intoxicated and trying to get his coin into his glass. I laughed and tried again to bounce the quarter. I pouted when George's glass made a clinking noise, meaning it now had a coin in it and watched him pass his glass over to Hermione. As per the rules, I picked up my wine glass to take a sip, only to find that it was empty and frowned. Harry seemed to notice my lack of alcohol and chuckled, rubbing Ginny's arms up and down as she shouted excitedly at Hermione now.

"I think it might be time to call it a night," he said, swaying a bit as he stood. He attempted to pull Ginny to her feet, but it was clear that Ginny was going to need some extra help. Hermione, who had purposefully take very tiny sips during the game and was thus one of the most sober, stood up from the couch and grabbed one of Ginny's arms. She and Harry hauled the red-headed woman to her feet and walked her slowly to the stairs, Ron stumbling lazily behind them.

I figured it was also probably time for me to go to bed, especially if I wanted to go for a run in the morning like I had planned. I grabbed my phone and rose from the couch, but maybe a little too quickly because I teetered backwards at once and fell straight into George's lap.

"Well hello there," he said smoothly, that cinnamon whiskey smell wafting over me as he spoke. I laughed and tried to get up again, but I felt like a turtle that was stuck on its back. George tried his best to help me up, but he too had had a little too much to drink tonight and was swaying on his feet, his drunken strength not enough to keep me standing. I fell out of his grasp and back onto the couch, my hair flopping over my face and obscuring my vision.

"Who turned out the lights?" I giggled, trying and failing to get my long, tangled hair out of my eyes. I felt two arms lifting me up from the couch and start to walk with me toward what I assumed was probably the stairs.

"George, you're so strong!" I laughed and finally restored my vision. My swirling eyes locked onto the slightly out-of-focus form carrying me, but this was definitely not George.

"Oh, Charlie," I breathed, my head lolling heavily onto his shoulder as my body decided that holding it up any longer was taking entirely too much effort.

"How can you walk so good?" I asked, causing him to let out a deep chuckle that made a rumbling noise in his chest under my ear.

"It's gonna take a lot more than that to get me drunk, sweetheart," he said, a smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. I smiled at that, remembering how my own tolerance level had changed once I started vet school. I didn't have time anymore to go out with friends to the bars or go to frat parties like I used to, and because of that only a few glasses of wine did me in.

"Charlie, I'm excited," I said simply, as if it was a sort of proclamation. He gave a hearty chuckle as he turned on one of the landings and started to ascend the next set of stairs.

"And why is that?" he humored me. I drew lazy loop-de-loops on his chest and sighed.

"Because dragons." Charlie gave another hearty laugh that I could feel reverberating through him.

"Well I hope it lives up to your expectations," he joked. I patted his chest as one would the head of a good dog and smiled to myself.

"Oh it will, Charlie," I said with a tone of confidence only alcohol could provide. "Because you'll be there, and it'll be fun." Charlie's lips twitched in a small smile as he neared the door to his older brother's childhood bedroom, his own being just next door.

"Fun, huh?" he laughed lightly as he managed to open the door and enter the small room. I nodded clumsily against his chest, causing some of my hair to drape over his arm and part of my face.

"Yeah! We'll watch movies, pet the dragons, eat ice cream, pet more dragons, and run."

"Run?" Charlie raised an eyebrow as he deposited me gently on the creaking bed.

"Running's my favorite," I explained, falling back across the short side of the bed, my feet dangling from one end and and my head off of the other. "I'm going in the morning if you want to come." I couldn't see his face, but the silence told me he was considering the idea.

"What time?" he finally asked. I pondered his question and raised my watch up to my face to check the time, however I didn't actually open my eyes to look at it.

"Seven," I responded, relying on my old habit of running each morning at seven AM instead of actually trying to consider any details at the moment. I felt one of my legs being lifted up and noticed that Charlie was unbuckling one of my sandals.

"Seven sounds good," he said, letting my sandal-less foot fall back against the bed and picking up my other foot. "I'll meet you on the front porch and I can show you some of the old trails I used to use around here."

"Sweet," I sighed heavily, the blood rushing to my brain was starting to make my eyes hurt.

"Charlie?" I asked suddenly, using every ounce of my strength to pull myself up into a sitting position so I could look at the handsome dragon tamer.

"Yeah?" he responded, releasing my foot and setting the last sandal onto the floor by its twin.

"Do the others like me?" Charlie looked up at me, surprise on his face. He stood up fully and took a seat next to me on the bed, the old frame groaning in protest.

"Why would you ask that?" he spoke softly. I could feel his eyes on me, but mine were steadily focused on my now-bare feet.

"I just want to make a good impression," I said lamely. "What if they don't like my hair?" Charlie snorted at that.

"Your hair?" he chuckled. "Why wouldn't they like your hair?" I shrugged my shoulders and swung my feet back and forth a little.

"Jake didn't like it when I stayed with him, said it got everywhere and clogged his drain and stuff." I had no idea where my drunken brain was going with this, but at the time it seemed like a totally rational fear that demanded an answer.

"Who's Jake?" Charlie asked, puzzled. "And I promise your hair won't be a problem." He chuckled quietly, reaching an arm around my shoulders to rub my upper arm to comfort me. I slumped to the right, my head falling against his shoulder and rested my tired eyes as I yawned.

"That's good," I mumbled tiredly. "And Jake is my ex-boyfriend. He's an asshole." I felt more-so than heard Charlie's laugh at my description of Jake and he rubbed my arm soothingly again. When I yawned again, Charlie slowly got up from the bed, the horrible screeching of the bed frame echoing through the room and possibly even the house.

"You need to get some rest if you want to be up at seven tomorrow morning," he smiled down at me, pulling back the duvet so I could slip underneath. I nodded in response, covering another yawn and sweeping my hair out of my face.

"Thanks, Charlie," I said softly, giving the dragon tamer as grateful a smile as I could muster at the moment. Charlie made his way over to the door and took a step into the hallway before glancing over his shoulder at me.

"Sleep tight, sweetheart," his deep voice echoed in the silence as he closed my door behind him and headed to his own room for some much-needed rest.


	6. Chapter 6

The jarring sound of my 6:30AM alarm ripped me from my dreamless sleep, alerting me that I needed to get up now so that I could take an Advil to get rid of the headache I knew I probably had. I grabbed my phone and turned off the seven alarms that would sound off every ten minutes and then stuck my phone on its portable charger, seeing as how I had forgotten to do that last night.

I groaned quietly as I trudged over to my messy suitcase and pulled out a bottle of Advil, popping two straight into my mouth, a gray sports bra, some black running shorts, some comfy underwear and a thin, white tank top. I also fished out some socks I used solely for running and my favorite Brooks running shoes. I ran half-marathons and a few full marathons every now and again, so over the years I had accumulated an entire wardrobe dedicated to the sport.

It had become a habit of mine to run each morning and I used that time to relax and plan out my schedule for the day. People always say that distance running is a mental game, and it truly is, which is why I also liked to listen to audiobooks and some of my favorite playlists that kept me motivated on longer runs. I hadn't ran in the past two days, so today I was just planning to take it easy and only go for about four or five miles. Usually I could run between eight and ten if I had been running at least a few miles for the previous couple days, but today I didn't feel up to it. Plus there was Charlie to consider.

I had tried and failed to get my ex, Jake, into running, but he had only made it two and a half miles before he started to complain that he was going to 'lose his gains'. I hoped Charlie would be able to keep up, but even if he couldn't I still appreciated his willingness to come with me.

I ditched the clothes I had worn yesterday and threw on my running outfit and slipped on my shoes, checking to see how much my phone had charged in the meantime. It had about 20%, which wasn't awful, but I still had another fifteen minutes before I was supposed to meet Charlie downstairs. Gathering up my assorted toiletries, I exited my room and strode quietly into the bathroom, depositing my armful of supplies on the small counter.

I washed my face and brushed my teeth, remembering to take my vitamins and birth control as well, before finally brushing out my hair. My hair looked like a tangled-up rat's nest from a night of drinking and sleeping on it, so I sat there tugging the plastic brush through my long locks for maybe five or so minutes. I deftly wound my hair into a braid at the back of my head, but I was never able to contain the smaller wisps of hair that framed my face. Satisfied with my appearance, I put on some lip balm and toted my stuff back to my room, dumping them unceremoniously into my open suitcase that was strewn open across the floor.

Grabbing my phone from the nightstand, I headed downstairs, headphones thrown around my neck, and stepped out the front door to find Charlie already there waiting for me.

"I didn't think you'd make it," he chuckled at me, giving me an approving look. He was dressed in a gray shirt with 'Gryffindor Quidditch Team' printed on its front, although it looked as if the years had faded the design, and donned a black pair of men's running shorts and some tennis shoes.

I shrugged with a smile and plugged my headphones into my phone before securing it between my hip and the waistband of my shorts. "That's what Advil's for." Charlie gave me a confused look but I waved him off, deciding to explain it later.

"So, how far did you want to go?" Charlie asked. "Because some of the trails are shorter, about a few kilometers, and some are ten or more." It was my turn to look at him in confusion as I tried to calculate the distance in my head in kilometers instead of miles. If a 5K was 3.1 miles, and a 10K was 6.2 miles, then maybe seven or eight kilometers would do?

"How about seven or eight?" I asked, pulling a leg up behind me up to stretch a little before we left.

"Wow, alright," Charlie said, clearly surprised that I had suggested such a distance, but he didn't seem discouraged by it either. "What's that?" Charlie was pointing at my headphones and so I pulled out my phone and showed him the screen that displayed my running playlist.

"These let me listen to the music on my phone. Here," I clicked on a song and held the ear bud up to his ear. His mouth sagged in surprise as he listened to the unfamiliar tunes drifting out of the plastic ear piece.

"That's incredible," he said once I took back the ear bud, placing it in my ear as the other dangled freely so that I could still hear him. As I stretched my arms a little, I noticed him standing there with nothing but his wand, which he placed on the window sill and hadn't planned to bring with us, and I figured it would probably be more polite to leave my stuff at the house as well. I didn't want to be listening to my music while he ran in silence beside me. Carefully tugging on the cord, I pulled the headphones out of its jack in my phone and set both of them on the sill where Charlie's wand lay.

"You aren't going to listen to your music?" He gave me a quizzical look and I shook my head with a smile.

"It wouldn't feel right for me to listen to music when you can't. We can just talk as we go if that's okay with you," I gave him a smile and he nodded in response.

"Okay then, shall I lead the way?" Charlie gestured a hand toward the right side of the house where a beaten-down path cut through the tall grass.

"After you."

...

"Okay," Charlie panted as we reached the front porch of the house an hour later. "That was a little longer of a trail than I remember." I laughed and wiped some sweat from my forehead as I checked my watch. We had run close to six miles because he had forgotten which trail he had taken us down and we got turned around on the way back, making the run much longer than either of us had intended. But he took it in stride, even if he was huffing and puffing now that we had finally stopped.

"Thanks for going with me, Charlie. I really appreciate it," I said sincerely. I would not have been able to traverse the nearby trails by myself without him.

"You don't even look tired," Charlie grumbled, a little moan of jealousy in his voice. He was dripping sweat and his gray shirt was almost black now with the amount of perspiration it had absorbed during our run, and bits of his hair were slicked against his forehead. I had a little sweat on my forehead and nose, but I was accustomed to running in the heat of the Oklahoma sun, this was nothing to me, and I was also used to the distance, whereas Charlie did not seem to run this amount regularly.

"Let's go grab some water," I suggested, chuckling as I walked past his dripping form and scrunched up my nose.

"What? Don't like the smell?" He joked, taking a step closer to me. I grinned and shook my head, backing up a few steps.

"No offense, Charlie, but you smell disgusting!" I laughed and he belted out a loud chuckle of his own. We walked into the house after grabbing our things off the window sill and met the rest of the Weasleys and company, which had seemed to wake up and come downstairs for breakfast while we were out. Charlie fetched us two glasses from a cupboard and filled them with his wand with ice-cold water. I drank from my cup greedily, as did Charlie, and I was about to ask about breakfast when the sound of pecking caught everyone's attention.

"Now who's owl is that then?" Molly asked, opening the kitchen window to let in a ginormous, brown owl with a piece of parchment tied to its ankle. Charlie wiped his mouth on his sleeve before he approached the owl, who seemed to recognize him and extended its leg.

"It's Dimitri's," he trailed off as he read the piece of paper. His eyes scanned the scrawled writing and a grin slowly pulled up the corners of his mouth. Without a word, he strode so quickly over to me that I could hardly blink before he had lifted me into the air in a giant bear hug. I cried out in surprised laughter as Charlie swung me around in a circle before setting me down again, now covered in the sweat from his soaked shirt.

"It worked, Clarke!" Charlie said excitedly, pushing the scrap of paper into my hands.

'_Charlie,  
__ We got your owl yesterday and had Vlad check Norberta's ear like you suggested. I don't know how you knew, but she had an infection in her right ear, which we cleared up easily enough, and now she's back to normal. Tavish said he's never seen someone as in tune with dragons, even when they are half a continent away, as you are. He said you'd be getting a pay raise once you got back, 'outstanding effort' or something like that. You are one lucky bastard! See you and that muggle soon!  
__-Dimitri_

_PS: I proposed to Clara the day you left, and she said yes! Bring a suit back with you because the wedding is next week, and I can't have my best man looking underdressed._

"What's this about, dear?" Molly asked as she set her cup of tea down on the counter to face her second eldest properly.

"I told Clarke about Norberta's strange behavior when we went for coffee yesterday, and she suggested to check her right ear. I though that was mental at first, no offense, Clarke, but I owled Dimitri to tell him to check her ear. He just owled back and said she had an ear infection and now she's back to normal." I blushed a little as gaping mouths and Charlie's proud smile bombarded me.

"It was nothing," I said with an embarrassed laugh. "We had just discussed unilateral, peripheral vestibular disease this past semester, so it was still pretty fresh in my mind." I was met with silence and perplexed looks, making me realize who I was talking to. Everyone jokes that once you start a medical profession of any kind that you learn a totally new language of medical jargon, and sometimes you forget how to talk like a normal person when you're not around your fellow students or colleagues.

"Sorry, uh, in class we were taught that ear infections can cause the kind of problems Norberta was having, and I thought maybe that's what was going on," I rephrased with a shrug of my shoulders.

"Well done, then!" Arthur said brightly, adjusting his robes. It was clear that he was on his way out of the house, probably to get to work, and was just finishing his breakfast when we walked in. "Alright Weasleys, I'm off," Arthur announced, pocketing his wand and downing the rest of his tea.

"Have a good day, dear. Oh! And don't forget to ask about the floo," Molly reminded her husband, who nodded his acknowledgement.

"Right you are, love," he pecked Mrs. Weasley on the cheek before striding over to the fireplace in the living room, grabbing a handful of something on the mantle, stepped into the fire and shouted something before he disappeared in a burst of green flames. I blinked a few times in shock, having watched the entire thing from the kitchen, not sure if I would ever get used to that.

"We better be off too, mum," Ginny said as she and Harry stood up from their seats at the table, depositing their plates and cups in the sink. Ginny was dressed for a quidditch practice while Harry was wearing his official, wizard-policeman robes.

"We'll be back for dinner tonight, Ginny will probably make it back before me though," Harry informed Mrs. Weasley as he picked up his wand, preparing to teleport, and a second later he and Ginny both disappeared into thin air with two audible cracks. The kitchen was quiet for a few moments, leaving just me, Charlie, George, Hermione, Ron, and Mrs. Weasley.

"So," Hermione began as she stood up from the table. "Is there anything in particular you'd like to do today, Clarke?" I pondered that for a minute, trying to come up with any ideas, but the truth was that I didn't really know what wizards did to pass the time. Besides quidditch of course.

"Hmm, nothing that I can think of right at this moment," I said honestly, brushing a stray piece of hair out of my face.

"I could show you the shop if you'd like," George said sleepily from the table beside his brother, Ron. "I have to go in anyway and sort out some inventory issues with Melinda". He looked like he had just rolled out of bed, his hair sticking up in every direction and purple bags under his eyes.

"That'd be really cool," I said cheerfully, giving George an enthusiastic smile. He lifted his tea cup to me in a kind of salute before draining his contents and pushing his chair back from the table.

"Then it seems I better track down a hangover potion." George waltzed out of the kitchen after depositing his cup on the counter right next to the sink rather than in it, causing Molly to give him an irritated look as he ascended the stairs.

"Are you going to come with us?" I asked Charlie, drawing his attention up from his now empty glass of water. The dragon tamer shook his head as he fed Dimitri's owl a treat and then opened the window again for it to take its leave of their house.

"I have a few things I need to get done today, but you all go ahead and have fun," he said politely, giving me a grin.

"Okay," I smiled and placed my nearly empty glass of water in the sink. My hair was sticking to the back of my neck with sweat and my tank top clung to my skin uncomfortably, so a shower was the clearly the next logical step for me this morning. I ascended the stairs and made it back to my room, calves a little sore and shoulders a little pink from the sun. I gathered up my shampoo and conditioner, along with all the other girly shower accessories that I told myself were necessities. I mean, how could you go without two different kinds of body wash and three types of exfoliating face wash?

Trying not to drop my armful of toiletries, I crossed the hall to the bathroom and locked the door behind me. I turned on the faucet and adjusted the temperature until a lukewarm spray met my hand. Stripping off my sweaty clothes and placing a towel on the hook next to the shower, I stepped under the water and let out a relieved sigh. The feeling of an early morning workout and then a relaxing shower afterwards was the best way to start one's day, in my opinion.

After lathering my hair and body with all the appropriate soaps and giving my legs a quick shave, I hopped out of the shower, making sure not to drip too much water all over the floors. I rubbed some eucalyptus-scented lotion over my arms and legs and some moisturizer on my face as I hurried through my morning routine. Next came makeup, so I dabbed a little concealer under my eyes and applied some blush over my freckled cheekbones. I then put a little eyeshadow over my lids and topped it off with some mascara that highlighted the length of my long, dark lashes. Finishing the look, I swiped on some dusty rose-colored lipstick and ran a brush quickly through my drying hair. I spritzed some sea-salt spray into my hair so that when it dried it had a little more of that beach wave texture than it usually did.

Checking my reflection in the mirror and feeling satisfied with the result, I threw on the loose, red peplum tank top with ties at the shoulders and a cute pair of medium-blue denim shorts. I gathered my things up once more and unlocked the door as I stepped out into the cool hallway, making it back to my room and dumping my things back into my open suitcase. My sweaty clothes, however, went in the designated 'dirty clothes corner' which was a corner of the small room that I had unceremoniously dumped all my dirty clothes. I swiped a clumsy arm around under the bed until I found the sandals Charlie had taken off my feet last night and quickly buckled them around my ankles.

I grabbed my wallet and phone before heading back downstairs to wait for the others and maybe see if there was something quick to eat for breakfast in the kitchen. When I got downstairs, Ron and Hermione were sitting at the table with Molly, chatting about nothing in particular.

"Mrs. Weasley, is there something I can make really quick for breakfast before we leave?" I asked politely, giving her a small smile as I came to stand next to the table.

"Oh of course, dear!" Molly said, hastily getting out of her chair and scurrying over to the cabinets stocked with food. She showed me lots of different options and we finally decided a bagel was the easiest option. She toasted it with her magic wand and then flicked her wand at the refrigerator, causing the door to spring open and strawberry jam to bob through the air and onto the table in front of me. I thanked her and munched on my bagel while we waited for George to come downstairs, which he did after about ten minutes.

"Ready," he declared, dressed in a pair of casual slacks and polo shirt. I followed Ron and Hermione over to the fireplace and watched as they grabbed fistfuls of some strange, green powder from an old dish on the mantle.

"Clarke, this is floo powder, you take a handful, step in the fireplace and shout the name of where you want to go and throw the powder down. George will go first to show you how it's done," Hermione informed me with a smile. I nodded and watched George as he did exactly as Hermione said and disappeared in a burst of green flames.

"Is it safe, you know, for me?" I asked hesitantly as Hermione held out the dish of floo powder.

"Yes, this is how I used to travel with my parents when I was still underage," she said confidently. I took a deep breath and grabbed some green powder, trusting that if Hermione said it was okay then it would be fine. I climbed into the fireplace and faced the others, a slightly unsure look on my face, and shouted, "Diagon Alley!".

* * *

Charlie ran a hand down his face and sighed heavily as he leaned under the spray of the shower. He was excited to be taking Clarke to Romania, but he didn't know what would happen between them if he did. He liked her a lot, there was no doubt about that, and his dreams last night were plagued by the brunette-haired muggle. There was something about those deep hazel eyes, that were more green than brown, that held him transfixed anytime he stared too long into them.

He scrubbed the suds over his shoulders to rid himself of the sweat from their run this morning, and smiled when he pictured how she looked afterward. She looked like she had barely broken a sweat, unlike him, and her wind-swept hair was strangely attractive to him. She had this contagious smile that was hard for him to resist mirroring when he saw it, and her curves drove him to distraction when he had seen her come into the house in Ginny's little, Gryffindor bikini after swimming in the pond.

Merlin, what he wouldn't do to have that little witch-, wait no, not a witch. He shook his head as he reminded himself that Clarke was most definitely not a witch. He had nearly killed her with side-along apparation yesterday! And if he were being honest with himself, that was his biggest hang-up. Clarke was a muggle, and there were a lot of things to consider if he wanted to start something romantic between them. He knew his mother liked Clarke, and so did the rest of their family it seemed, but he didn't know if he could picture dating a muggle long-term. Plus there was the problem of her being obliviated at the end of the summer...

But the way her eyes lit up when he talked about dragons, how she solved the mystery of Norberta's strange behavior, and the way that she could joke and laugh comfortably with him were just a few of the many reasons he found himself struggling to ignore the butterflies he felt in his stomach any time she said his name. Just last night when she had said 'Oh, Charlie' is a surprised sort of gasp had sent blood rushing south and causing him to seek out a cold shower after he had left her room.

Charlie groaned in frustration as he rinsed the shampoo out of his red hair. He was acting like a teenager again! He hadn't been this consumed with a woman since Hogwarts, and there was no foreseeable future between the two of them. He had been overly flirtatious and now he had started to dig himself into a blissful hole that he would find it extremely difficult to climb out of at this point. Maybe the best thing for him to do would be to put some distance between them, not do anything that might lead her on or make her think he was romantically interested in her. After all, she would have her memories of him wiped in a few months, while Charlie, if he got too attached, would be the one suffering the loss when she returned to her mundane, muggle life in America.

The thought of playing as if he were indifferent to her put an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he was convinced it was for the best, for both of them. Now all he needed to do was get through the next couple weeks without any minor slip-ups. How hard could that really be?


	7. Chapter 7

I hummed happily as I sipped my warm coffee from the little cafe Charlie had taken me to yesterday. After perusing George's shop for about an hour, Hermione had taken me out on a sort of girl's trip to the coffee shop, after Ron volunteered to stay behind and help George, and maybe do a little bit of shopping later. We lounged in some chairs on the outdoor patio seating of the cafe, soaking up some sun from the partly-cloudy sky and enjoying the company of each other without any of the men present.

"So," Hermione said as she sipped her peppermint tea, "How are you liking England?" I set down my own cup and smiled at the brunette witch.

"I've loved it so far, all the new sights, the magic stuff, you all..." I rambled off.

"...The handsome men," Hermione finished with a knowing smile, causing me to blush slightly and start to study the little designs on the coffee mug.

"I suppose," I said nonspecifically.

"Well, from where I sit, it would seem that George and Charlie have taken quite a liking to you. I'm sure you've noticed that by now though." I looked up and gave gave her a slight nod, I had notice the two men's attention, I wasn't an idiot.

"I just wanted to say be careful," she said with a sad smile. I gave her a confused look and took another sip of coffee.

"What do you mean?" I arched an eyebrow at her.

"I just mean that George is in a more fragile state than you might realize, and him getting hurt after he's lost Fred might set him back again, and nobody wants that. And for Charlie, well, he's more of the 'love them and leave them' type, not really one to have long-term relationships."

"Ah," I said, understanding her meaning now. "I think George is funny and cute and fun to be around, but I'm not sure that I'm interested in him romantically," I explained. Hermione hummed and nodded her head.

"And Charlie?"

"Charlie's a bit more difficult to wrap my head around," I blushed. "He's very handsome and it seems like we get along really well together, but I'm also not really looking for anything long-term. I just got out of a serious relationship not too long ago, and I don't know if I'm ready to start something like that again. Plus he's in Romania most of the time, and long distance relationships are hard." I finished sadly, my smile drooping as I stared into my mug.

"Clarke?" Hermione said softly, noticing the shift in my mood. She placed a comforting hand on my arm, causing me to look up into her concerned face. I gave her a halfhearted smile and took another long drink from my cup.

"My last relationship didn't turn out so well," I said hesitantly, my voice shaking a bit as I recalled the details of how it ended. "We had been dating for a few years, and we were talking about getting married. I was excited and we even planned to go ring shopping when I planned to visit him one weekend. My class that Friday had been canceled and so I decided to drive up early to see him, since he lived a couple hours away, and surprise him so we could spend more time together. But when I made it to his apartment and unlocked the door, his coworker Kristen was there..."

Hermione looked like she knew where this was going and gave me a sympathetic look, one that I could tell was coming from a place of empathy rather than pity.

"Anyway, we broke up after that and I swore to myself that long-distance relationships were too risky, and I just want to do me for a while, ya know? Just focus on school, maybe go on a few dates or something, but not anything too crazy." Hermione nodded in understanding and gave me a little smile.

"I know what you mean, and I'm glad you shared that with me, and I promise to respect your privacy as well."

"Thanks, Hermione," I smiled at her and she smiled back.

"You can just call me 'Mione if you want, everyone else does."

"Deal," I said with a small chuckle.

"And on the bright side," she gave a little devious smirk, "No one says you and Charlie can't have a little fun in Romania without starting a relationship. I hear he leaves his partners very satisfied and begging for more." We both burst into a fit of giggles and Hermione wiped a fake tear from her eye.

"But seriously, Clarke, it might be fun, who knows? And it doesn't seem like Charlie would mind a little distraction from work." I raised an eyebrow at her suggestion but smiled nonetheless.

"I'm not saying it isn't a very tempting idea, but do you think it'll make things awkward afterward?" I asked with a serious look, but Hermione just smiled and shook her head.

"You both are consenting adults, I don't think he'll make it awkward, not if you both are clear about what you want." Yeah, that made sense. I would just need to make it clear to Charlie that I didn't want anything serious and that whatever happened between us would just be for the summer. But from the sound of it, that seemed to be his default setting anyway, so did it really need to be said explicitly?

"You're right, Mione, thanks," I gave her a sincere smile and she grinned back at me over her teacup.

"If you ever need anything, Clarke, just ask."

...

After a long day of shopping, helping George with his store and visiting a local wizarding history museum with Hermione, we finally made it back to the Burrow just after Harry and Ginny arrived. I went straight to the kitchen to offer my help to Mrs. Weasley but she just shooed me away with that motherly smile of hers, so I ended up sitting on the couch with Hermione and Ron while we waited for dinner to be ready.

"Oh, Clarke," Charlie's voice called from the stairs. "I was going to ask, would you care if we left for Romania a little sooner than we had planned? Since Norberta is back to normal we can go whenever you want and Tavish can transfer what's left of my holiday to whenever we come back to England." I watched him make his way across the living room to stand next to the couch, looking down at me expectantly with those bright blue eyes of his.

"Okay, how soon could we leave?" Charlie rubbed his chin in though and seemed to be doing some mental calculations in his head.

"Maybe tomorrow afternoon? Assuming dad talked with the department of transportation officials today like he was supposed to."

"Oh! Well okay then!" I laughed with a smile. "Whenever everything is set is up is good with me." Charlie gave me a grin and a nod before heading into the kitchen to help his mother, leaving me a little disappointed in the briefness of out interaction. I looked over at Hermione and she gave me a small smile and a shrug as if to say 'your guess is as good as mine'.

Just then, the fireplace roared to life and Arthur Weasley appeared out of the green flames, brushing some soot off his shoulder as he strode into the room.

"Evening Weasleys, oh and company," he added cheerfully as he spotted Hermione and I.

"Arthur, is that you dear?" Molly's voice called from the kitchen.

"That it is, Mollywobbles," he called back, striding happily toward the kitchen, no doubt eager to greet his wife after a long day of work. Harry and Ginny got up to follow him into the kitchen, and Ron, Hermione and I quickly followed. George and Charlie were already seated at the table, talking about a new dragon-related product George was about to release in his store and Arthur was helping Molly set the table as they discussed the events of the day.

"Charlie, I talked to Phineas Gabberhound today, he's a friend of mine in the department of transportation, and he authorized our floo for a one-time floo to Romania anytime between now and next Friday."

"Brilliant, dad, thanks," Charlie smiled at his dad before returning to his conversation with George. Hermione took the seat across from Charlie and Ron the one across from George, and Harry and Ginny took the two seats between George and Arthur, leaving one empty seat for me between Ron and Molly. I took my seat once the table was fully set and Molly had levitated all of the food onto the table.

The conversation focused on Harry and Ginny's cottage again and Ron's upcoming tryouts for the majority of the meal, which was always interesting to listen to as I learned new things about the wizarding world.

"Charlie, dear, when do and Clarke plan on leaving for Romania?" Molly asked from the opposite end of the table as her second-eldest son. Charlie glanced over to me for a split second before locking eyes again with his mother.

"I think tomorrow afternoon, maybe around one o'clock?" He looked over to me for confirmation and I smiled and nodded my agreement.

"What about the rest of your holiday? You only spent a few days with us." The disappointment was evident in her voice, due probably to the fact that Charlie rarely came home and she wanted to be able to spend as much time with him as she could.

"I'm going to ask Tavish to put the remaining days I had taken off and add them onto the next time I come back, which is probably next week when I bring Clarke back," he explained, spearing a green bean with his fork.

"Well alright then," Molly signed into her plate. Conversation continued amicably for the rest of the evening and once everyone had eaten their fill they started to trickle away from the table in ones and twos.

"Molly, can I help you clean up?" I offered predictably once it was just me and the Weasley parents left at the table.

"You're too sweet, Clarke," Molly said with a gentle smile and patted me on the shoulder as she rose from the table. "But you're a guest in our home, I'd be mortified if Kingsley came in here to find you cleaning up when George or Ron or Charlie could have done it just as easily."

"Alright then," I smiled and scooted my chair back from the table. "I just thought I'd ask to make sure."

"I wish my own children were as willing to help as your are, dear," she patted me gently on the cheek before bustling over to the sink to start on the dishes that had accumulated during the day. I was about to leave for the living room when I heard Arthur clear his throat from behind me.

"Clarke, tell me, what is it your parents do for a living?" Arthur was still picking at a few crumbs on his plate as he spoke, prompting me to take my seat again before I answered.

"My mom is an accountant for a local business in our hometown, and my dad is a cardiologist, he's the one who got me interested in medicine," I said with a smile. Arthur nodded his head, even though I'm not sure if he knew what those things were or not.

"And your sisters?"

"Carly, my older sister, is married and stays at home with her new baby that she had not too long ago, and Catherine is about to graduate college with a degree in graphic design. Courtney just finished high school and she isn't sure yet if she wants to go to college, I think she wants to take some time to travel before she makes a decision, but I hope she does go. My whole family are Oklahoma State alumni and I really hope she chooses to go there too."

"I must say, your family seems very well-educated," Arthur said with an impressed look. "I'm sure your parents are very proud of all of you." I blushed a little at his compliment and nodded my thanks.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley."

"Please, call me Arthur." He gave me that fatherly smile of his that I've seen him give to Ginny and her brothers before he set his silverware on his plate and stood up to help his wife clean up their kitchen. I sat their for a moment, wondering what exactly had prompted him asking about my family, but I chalked it up to his curiosity about all things muggle. After depositing my own dishes in the sink, I padded into the living room where I found everyone, except for Ron and Hermione, chatting about this and that, even Charlie was sitting next to Ginny on the couch, catching up with her before he had to go back to Romania again.

"Clarke!" Ginny called over the back of the couch when she spotted me. "Want to play that quarters game again?" I laughed at the hopeful look on her face.

"I'm sorry, Ginny, I don't know if my body can take another night of heavy drinking tonight, but maybe we can again when Charlie and I get back from Romania?"

"I'll hold you to it," Ginny smiled back at me before she patted the seat next to her on the couch. I walked around the arm of the couch and took the proffered seat, sinking down into the old couch.

"What do you want to do on your last night here?" She asked with a smile.

"Gin, you make it sound as if she's leaving for good," Her fiancé chuckled from his seat in the armchair next to George. I looked over at the redheaded witch, trying to think of something we could all do together that didn't involve massive amounts of alcohol.

"Maybe we could watch a movie or something?" I suggested with a shrug, seeing Harry smile and nod excitedly.

"It's been a long time since I've watched a film," he said wistfully, reminding me that Harry and Hermione both grew up watching movies, but that the Weasley children did not. I looked around for the tv but couldn't find one, which wasn't all that surprising.

"We'll need a tv, a DVD player and a movie if that's what we're going to do," I said, pulling out my phone to look up some pictures of the things we would need. Harry however conjured up a flatscreen tv and a blueray DVD player without any prompting required, clearly he had done this before.

"Any movie suggestions?" Harry asked, a smile still etched on his face. I thought about things that were classics that were easy to understand and didn't make references to witches, so as not to be insensitive or anything like that.

"Hmm, Frozen?" By the blank looks I could tell that no one knew the film, so I quickly pulled up an image for Harry so that he could conjure the disk and smiled as it appeared on the coffee table.

"Do we need to wait for Hermione and Ron?" I asked as I popped the disk into the DVD player.

"Probably," Ginny mused. "I bet they'll be down in a minute or two." It was about five minutes before Hermione and Ron came down the stairs, hand in hand with identical flushed cheeks. They looked like the cats that ate the canary and everyone seemed to know what they had been up to. Ginny hopped up from the couch and grabbed Hermione's hand, pulling her over to the couch and motioning me to scoot to my right, next to Charlie. Ginny and Hermione squeezed in next to me, causing me to be pressed up against the handsome dragon tamer, who scooted to his right to make as much room on the couch as possible.

"What are we doing?" Hermione asked, looking at the tv that Harry had set on the mantle of the fireplace so everyone could see it.

"Clarke picked out a movie for us to watch!" Ginny said with excitement. She loved when Harry did this for her, and they often fell asleep watching strange movies from Harry's childhood together. George lifted his wand and the lights went out, making the room near pitch black with only the sounds of distant dishes clinking together from the kitchen. The opening sequence started, the Disney castle appearing and the room being lit up with the blue glow from the tv.

Charlie lifted his left arm up to rest along the back of the couch and make more room, and I decided to take a calculated risk. I leaned my head gently onto his shoulder and angled my body into his as I settled closer to him. He seemed to tense up for a second, but slowly relaxed into the couch and kept his eyes trained on the tv screen. At some point during the movie, Charlie had absentmindedly began running his fingers through my hair, making me feel more tired than I actually was, and my eyes slowly drifted closed as his hand lulled me to sleep and my body sagged more fully onto his chest.

I awoke with a start due to the loud roar of the giant snow monster in the movie, causing me to grip the front of Charlie's shirt tightly in surprise. His right arm had been draped over my waist while I was asleep, and I felt it pull me slightly closer to him as I settled back against him and closed my eyes once again. I could feel his heart beating in his chest under my ear and my body rose and fell with each deep breath he took. The pull of sleep came for me once more and I let it drag me down into its soothing depths while Charlie ran his fingers through my long hair again.

* * *

Charlie looked down at the woman leaning against his chest and gave a quiet sigh. He was supposed to be keeping his distance from her, but he couldn't help that she had practically crawled on top of him during the movie. He caught himself running his fingers through the silky strands of brown hair and his other gently resting on her trim waist as she slept. Her little hand rested against the hard planes of his chest and occasionally gripped the fabric in her hand.

He shifted a little uncomfortably as his pants grew tighter by the minute, threatening to expose his feelings for her should she wake up. Fortunately, Clarke slept through most of the movie, even though she was the one to suggest it, and eventually the film ended and the credits rolled. Charlie saw Ginny smirking at him as he subconsciously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and Charlie gave her a look as if to say 'I don't want to hear it'.

Ron and Hermione stood up from their spots and dashed back up the stairs, obviously eager to get back to what they had been up to earlier, and Ginny shook Harry awake from his seat in one of the armchairs. Harry blearily blinked his eyes and looked around for a few moments, noticing Ginny's extended hand in front of him and accepted it as she pulled him up. He caught sight of Clarke and Charlie and raised an eyebrow at the dragon tamer.

"Need any help?" Harry whispered sleepily, but the older Weasley shook his head.

"I've got her, you guys go," he said quietly. George glanced at the two of them and the corners of his mouth dipped in a frown. It was clear that the two liked each other and he probably didn't have a shot with Clarke. But that was how things usually went with Charlie, girls always tripping over themselves just to be around him, and Clarke was no different it seemed. He trudged up the stairs behind Harry and Ginny, leaving Charlie and Clarke as the only ones left in the now-deserted living room.

Charlie was torn between waking her up and just carrying her to her room, but his choice was made for him when she began to stir. Clarke yawned and stretched out her arms, slowly blinking the sleep out of her eyes as she looked up at him.

"Hi, Charlie," she mumbled with eyes half closed. Her head bobbed slightly as she looked like she was falling asleep again and her head crashed back down on his chest again. He chuckled under his breath and gently extricated himself from the woman. Clarke yawned again and settled into the couch, now devoid of any other occupants.

"Clarke," he whispered, shaking her arm gently, but she just shrugged off his arm and snuggled deeper into the couch.

"Leave me here," she groaned sleepily, her arm slumping over the edge of the couch to drag on the carpet. Charlie shook his head with a smirk and scooped the muggle girl up in his arms and began toting her back to the stairs. Clarke moaned in protest but soon let her cheek rest soundly against his overly large pecs. She looked so innocent and happy went she slept, he noted.

"Charlie," she mumbled so quietly he had barely heard the small breath of a word escape her lips.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," she sighed sleepily, not giving any further explanation. He let out a quiet laugh and turned on one of the landings to ascend the second set of stairs.

"Anytime, Sweetheart." He mentally smacked himself at the use of the pet name, it was so easy to talk like that around her that he would need to put in extra effort if he was going to keep his distance from her romantically. He pushed Bill's old door open with his foot and placed her on the bed like he had done the previous night, unbuckling her sandals and leaving them on the floor near her bed. He silently crept out of the room and padded across the hall to his room where he threw himself down on his old bed. This woman would be the death of him, he was sure.


	8. Chapter 8

I coughed as soot and ash billowed around me as I stepped out of the large fireplace. I looked around the room I had found myself in, noting the dark, hardwood floors and plain couch with the tan, leather armchair. It looked as if someone had collected various pieces of furniture from different garage sales and stuck them all together in the smallish living room like a life-sized doll house.

A large window next to the door let the light of the day shine into the room and illuminated the dust that had collected on the many surfaces of the room. The curtains were a garish shade of maroon and a striped rug lay under the couch to give it that homey feeling. The cabin had an open concept and I could easily see into the kitchen, which housed all the essential appliances as well as a sturdy-looking dining table in the corner.

"It's not much, but it's home," Charlie said, stepping out of the fireplace behind me and brushing some soot off of his boots.

"I think it's perfect, Charlie," I threw a smile over my shoulder at him and stepped more fully into the space. I watched as Charlie pulled my miniaturized luggage out of his pocket and used his wand to return them to their original size.

Before we had left for Romania, Hermione had told George that I wasn't sure if I was interested in him romantically, which I felt terrible about and was glad I didn't have to face him, but then she also told Ginny about my interest in her brother. Unlike Hermione, Ginny squealed in delight at the news and drug the both of us into her childhood bedroom.

...

_"Tell me everything!" Ginny whispered hurriedly as she cast some spell on the door, which I later found out was a silencing spell of some kind._

_"I think Mione told you all the important details," I blushed heavily, unsure how to talk to someone about their own older brother._

_"He did seem to be acting strangely yesterday though," I added with a slight frown, remembering our brief interaction when he had altered our travel plans._

_"Charlie can be so thick sometimes!" Ginny groaned in frustration. "He's acting like he would with any other witch that wanted a relationship with him when he didn't. He used to complain to me about all the girls at Hogwarts that wanted to date him, and of course he shuts down completely and avoids them in hopes that they'll go away, the idiot." All three of us giggled at the mental image of a young Charlie being chased around by a hoard of desperate women._

_"I'm sure you're probably right, Ginny, but I also don't want to just come out and say 'Hey Charlie, I'm not looking for anything serious, but we can certainly still hook up with no strings attached if you want'. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of self-confidence, but there is no way in hell I'm about to announce anything like that to his face."_

_The two witches hummed in thought, Hermione scratching her head while Ginny rubbed her chin, both trying to solve the riddle of Charlie's odd behavior and how to overcome it. Then Hermione froze, a smile turning up the corner of her lips as she looked at Ginny and then me._

_"What if you didn't have to actually say it?"_

...

Together we had come up with a three-phase game plan that was sure to grab his attention while also making my intentions perfectly clear. Phase one would begin tonight, but for right now I had to focus on meeting Charlie's friends and the tour around the dragon reserve.

I noticed that the cabin was rather small, a bathroom was just to the right of the kitchen and a hallway next to it lead to what I assumed was the master bedroom, but it didn't look like there was any more bedrooms. I guess the couch wouldn't be too uncomfortable, I had slept on much worse before, and it was only for a week, nothing I couldn't handle.

"You can probably just leave my stuff here and we can shrink them during the day to get them out of the way," I said to Charlie as he began to lift my luggage into his arms once again. He gave me a confused look and then shook his head with a small smile, carrying my stuff out of the living room and toward the only bedroom.

"No way, you're taking my room. Mum would have my head if she heard I had let you sleep on the couch while you stayed with me." I trotted along behind him as he led us into his room, which was larger than my own room at my parents' house. It had a large queen-sized bed with a matching dresser and wardrobe set made of dark oak. He had the two windows covered with thick curtains that blocked out most of the natural light in the room, making it very dark with no other lights on. Charlie stopped next to the dresser and set my suitcase and backpack on the floor next to it before he turned to face me.

"I told Dimitri we'd meet him in the mess hall for dinner, which gives us about an hour for me to show you the reserve." I nodded to show I was listening even though my eyes were still studying the large room.

"Is there anything I need to bring?" I asked, turning to face him once more. He smiled and shook his head, hooking his thumb over his shoulder.

"Not really, but I am going to use the loo before we go." I nodded and took a seat on the bed as he left the room. Pulling out my phone, I noticed many texts from my parents and sisters, wondering what I was doing and how my trip was going. I had been giving my parents daily, if not every other day, updates and I had forgotten to text them yesterday. They were a bit overprotective, even though I was twenty-three years old and financially independent, and so they felt it necessary to know where I was at all times this summer. I knew my mother would blow a gasket if she knew I was in Romania with a handsome British wizard and hanging out with fire-breathing dragons. So I thought it best not to tell them about this little mini trip.

I read through some texts and answered them in chronological order as best I could, which was a little difficult with the time change and guessing that they were probably all asleep right now. The sound of a door opening and Charlie's heavy footsteps let me know that it was time to go, so I stashed my phone in my pocket and hopped down from the bed.

"Ready?" Charlie asked with a smile, gesturing toward the front door of the cabin. I gave him a bright smile and nodded eagerly, walking out of the bedroom and through the hallway to where I remembered the front door was. Charlie followed close behind me, grabbing his wand off the coffee table before opening the front door for me and locking it behind us with his wand.

"So," he turned to me, "Where do you want to start?"

"Well, since I have zero knowledge about dragons or this reserve, I'd say it's your choice," I said cheekily, causing Charlie to grin and ruffle a hand through his slightly tousled hair.

"There's a Chinese fireball not too far from here, we can start there and then I'll show you the Welsh greens I told you about a few days ago, and then finish up with the Ukrainian Ironbelly on the far side of the reserve. There's a lot more to it, but I feel like it's a good start for today."

"Sounds good to me," I chirped happily. "Lead the way Mr. Weasley." Charlie gave me a handsome smirk and held out his arm in gentlemanly fashion, which of course I accepted, and he began leading us down the walkway that connected all the similar-looking cabins.

"How far away is the Chinese fireball?" I asked, craning my head to look up at Charlie, his head blocking most of the afternoon sun from my eyes.

"Maybe a ten minute walk?" he guessed. "What do muggles think about dragons?" He asked suddenly, casting a curious look down to me.

"Nothing that would make you too happy I think," I said apprehensively. "Dragons are the villains in most movies, but there are others where the dragons are portrayed in a better light." He nodded his head, lips pursed in a straight line.

"I figured as much," he said almost sadly. An idea suddenly popped into my head and my smile widened as I gave Charlie's arm a little squeeze.

"Would you be willing to watch a movie tonight?" I asked hopefully, giving him my most earnest set of puppy dog eyes. He just chuckled softly at me and grinned.

"Is that what we did last night?" I nodded fervently, waiting for him to mull the idea over.

"Maybe," he finally said. "I think some of the tamers are going out tonight to celebrate Dimitri and Clara's engagement now that I'm back. But if you want to have a night in we can do that instead."

"No, that's totally fine! We can go out with your friends and celebrate, movies will always be there and we can watch one anytime," I responded with a grin. Internally, however, I was slightly panicking because I hadn't brought any cute going-out clothes, and I wasn't about to ask Charlie to conjure some up for me. I needed Ginny and Hermione, but sending one of those owls would take too long, and they didn't have cell phones. I would need to figure something out before too long, otherwise I'd be going out in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.

"We can have a lie-in tomorrow morning though," Charlie suggested. I gave him a confused look as I tried to decipher what a 'lie-in' was. Seeming to notice my confusion, Charlie quickly rephrased.

"It's where you don't have anything to do in the morning so you just lay about the house doing whatever or sleeping in," he explained.

"Or," I squeezed his muscular forearm with a grin, "We could go for a run, and then do nothing." Charlie let out a hearty laugh and nodded his head, patting the top of my hand with his opposite one.

"Or we could go run," he smiled down at me. "But if you do go run, I'd prefer it be with me. The reserve is pretty safe most days, but I don't want to run the risk of something happening and not being able to find you." I grinned up at the dragon tamer with a small smirk.

"Who would have thought the big, bad dragon tamer would be a giant softy," I teased, bumping his arm with mine. He chuckled as he bumped me back, knocking me slightly off balance but still making sure I stayed upright.

"I'm serious, Clarke, don't go wandering around without me. I care about your safety." His face was more serious now so I nodded sincerely, agreeing to his terms.

"Okay, I won't go running off without you, I promise." Charlie had a relieved look on his face and gave me a little grin. A few minutes later we found ourselves standing in front of a large enclosure, heat radiating from beyond it's walls and a roar sounding in the distance. It looked like a very large enclosure, maybe ten or more acres, which made me happy. I had seen far too many zoo exhibits where a polar bear was kept in a tiny space or the rhinos had little more than a quarter of an acre to roam around.

"So this is Mei Ling, our Chinese fireball. They used her in the Triwizard tournament at Hogwarts years ago," Charlie explained. "You can't exactly see here, but she is a deep scarlet in color and has these gold spikes around her face and snout. She usually pretty good for us, lets other dragons live there with her sometimes when we take in refugees, but she can get feisty around the breeding season."

I tried to look through the dense trees as best I could, but from the sound of it she was probably no where close enough for us to see.

"Wow," I breathed, feeling a wave of heat sizzling through the trees and blowing our hair back. Charlie smiled brightly at me and placed a large, warm hand on my lower back to steer me toward the next enclosure. I tried my best not to dwell on the tingling sensation Charlie's hand was causing and to focus on walking in a straight line like a normal person.

"The Welsh greens are this way, maybe a five minute walk," Charlie said, hand still lingering on my back.

"Hey, Charlie," I asked after we had walked for a little while. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-seven, almost twenty-eight," he replied with a smirk and dropped his hand from my back. "How are you?"

"I'll turn twenty-four on December twelfth." Charlie stopped dead in his tracks, looking down at me with a strange look in his eyes.

"December twelfth? That's your birthday?" He asked suddenly, causing me to lean back a bit and give him a wary glance.

"Yes?" I said slowly, not sure why he was acting so weird. "Why?"

"That's my birthday, too." I gaped at him for a second, not sure if I believed what he was saying.

"Seriously?" I asked in disbelief, but Charlie nodded his head vigorously.

"Hmm, then I guess we're birthday buddies," I said with a smile, making Charlie laugh heartily as we continued walking again. "I might just have to come back and celebrate with you," I said with a smile. But instead of a smile, Charlie's face drooped and his lips pursed in a firm line.

"Yeah, maybe," he said tersely. I gave him a questioning look but he kept his eyes forward as we came up on the Welsh greens. The sight of a large green dragon flying lazily in large loops through the air distracted me from Charlie's odd shift in behavior, making me gasp at what I was seeing. There was now two dragons as a second one joined the first, and they flew around each other in a snake-like dance as their bright green scales glinted in the sunlight.

My mouth hung open in awe as I watched the dragons, not noticing Charlie's eyes on me. I stood there, amazed, for maybe ten minutes just watching them soaring through the sky, always staying within the bounds of their enclosure, and sighed contentedly as they slowly drifted back to the ground.

"That was amazing," I breathed, my eyes still fixed on the spot I imagined the dragons to be if I could see through the dense tree line.

"There's still one more to see," Charlie reminded me, turning and beginning to walk in the direction of the last dragon enclosure. I felt a little annoyed at his sudden change in mood and had to shake off whatever feeling this was growing in the pit of my stomach. We walked in relative silence for about ten minutes before Charlie led us down a winding path to the far right side of the reserve. After a while he came to a stop and pointed to a rocky, dark forested area where the trees swayed slowly back and forth.

"I think he's sleeping, best not to linger too long," Charlie said, motioning toward the swaying trees, which must've been due to the breath of the large dragon lying not too far away from us. I nodded and followed closely behind him as we backtracked toward the Welsh greens, trying not to wake the sleeping dragon by stumbling over a rock or something.

"You have the coolest job, Charlie," I finally said when we got farther away from the Ukrainian Ironbelly. Charlie gave me a small smirk and I saw a flash of white teeth when he tried to hide his full smile.

"It's not for everyone, though," he said modestly, leading us toward a large building nestled in the middle of the reserve. "That's the mess hall, we eat all our meals there and it's where we meet up and spend our time when we're not busy wrangling the dragons." We walked up to the building and Charlie opened the door for me as we stepped inside.

"Weasley!" A round of loud voices shouted when we entered the hall. A stout, muscular man with a bushy blonde beard lumbered over to us, clapping Charlie on the back with a heavy, meaty hand.

"There's the dragon whisperer! Tell us how you figured out that problem with Norberta!" His gruff voice cried loudly and many others raised their voices in agreement from their seats at the long tables. Charlie's cheeks went a little pink but he flashed a winning smile at everyone in the mess hall, motioning me to follow him over to a table where a group people sat waving us over.

"Charlie!" a tall, black-haired woman with deep crows feet around her eyes cried happily when we reached the table. Charlie gave the woman a grin and hugged her in greeting.

"Clara," he said with a smile. "I heard some congratulations are in order." The woman smiled and showed a flashy diamond ring on her left ring finger to Charlie and grinned happily at the man beside her.

"Did you know about this, Charlie?" she asked in a teasing tone, but Charlie just shrugged with a smirk.

"Maybe," he said with a devious look and leaned around the woman to shake the hand of the man beside her.

"I'm so happy for you, mate," Charlie smiled at the dark-haired man who sported a thick goatee and had a large burn mark traversing the lower right corner of his jaw all the way down his neck to his collarbone.

"Thanks, Charlie. I hope you brought a suit," he said in his thick accent. I couldn't tell if he was Russian or Romanian, but he definitely spoke some Eastern European language. He stood up to give Charlie a proper hug when he spotted me over his shoulder.

"Charlie Weasley, where are your manners?" He chastised the red-headed keeper. He gave me a cheesy grin and stuck his hand out to me in greeting.

"Hello, I'm Dimitri, you must be the Weasley's muggle," he said, his eyes crinkling when he smiled. I gave him a small smile in return as I shook his hand, although not enthused to be called the 'Weasley's muggle'.

"It's nice to meet you," I said politely.

"Please, sit with us," Clara said suddenly, motioning to a pair of empty seats across from them. We walked around the end of the long table and came around the other side to sit in the seats Clara had pointed to, me taking the one across from Clara and Charlie taking the one across from Dimitri.

"Everyone, this is Clarke, she's a muggle from America that's staying with my family for the summer. I've cleared it with the Minister and with Tavish, so I'll be showing her around the reserve for the next week," Charlie explained to the group of about seven people sitting around us. Besides Clara and Dimitri, there were four other dragon tamers seated around us, one tall, black-haired man, a shorter blonde woman, a brunette man and woman on either side of Clara and Dimitri.

"Do my ears deceive me?" A deep, manly voice spoke up from behind Charlie and I, and I turned in my seat to look up into the handsome face of a tall, blonde man with angelic features and large, muscular frame.

"Oh, Clarke, this is Kyle, he's from America too," Charlie said, his eyes narrowed slightly on the man behind us.

"When I heard there was a no-mag from America from the other table I just had to come and see for myself. And I certainly wasn't expecting to find such a gorgeous young woman. I'm Kyle," he said with a handsome grin as he stuck out a hand in greeting. My cheeks flushed and I smiled back as I shook his hand.

"You're from the US too?" I asked with a hopeful grin, to which he nodded.

"I'm from Pennsylvania, got transferred here last year from the reserve in West Virginia. Where are you from, beautiful?" He said with a wink.

"Oklahoma," I replied with a grin.

"Wow! You're a long way from home, southern girl." I smiled brightly, enjoying talking with someone from the states after I had been around only Europeans for the better part of a week.

"Will I see you out tonight?" he asked with a hopeful gleam in his eye and I gave him a nod.

"Yeah, we'll be out tonight," I said, glancing over at Charlie, who didn't look too happy with Kyle. Kyle looked back and forth between Charlie and I and held up his hands in an innocent gesture.

"My bad, Charlie, I didn't know you two were together," he said, eyeing the red-haired tamer.

"Oh we're not together," I said quickly, causing the handsome smile to return to Kyle's face.

"Well then, save me a dance tonight, Oklahoma." With a final wink he strode back to his table where his friends had been staring and watching our interaction, as had most of the mess hall. I looked over at Charlie and he seemed like he was about to crack a tooth with how hard his jaw was clenched. His fists were balled up under the table and a frown marred his usually happy, handsome face. I could tell he was jealous and he was about to play perfectly into my hands.

...

"Clara, what should I wear?" I said in a slightly panicked tone to the dark-haired woman who had come over with Dimitri while we were getting ready to out to celebrate their engagement.

"I didn't anticipate going out, so I didn't bring anything for the occasion," I explained, trying to keep myself calm as I slung my clothes everywhere. Charlie's room was covered in clothes, shoes, hair accessories, and soap bottles as I searched my luggage for anything that was fit for a night out at the bars.

"Calm down, maybe I can transfigure something for you," she said sweetly, sitting on the messy bed and pulling out her wand. I took a deep breath and nodded, going to sit next to her on the bed and pulled out my phone. I searched the internet for a picture of the shirt and jeans I wanted as well as a pair of heels and waited as she waved her wand at a pile of my clothes. Suddenly, some of my clothes turned into the clothes in the picture and I squealed in excitement, snatching them up off the floor.

"Thank you!" I called happily and dashed off to the bathroom to try them on. Thankfully, I had already done my hair and makeup before they got here and my long brown hair hung down my back in soft curls and my eyes popped with the thick mascara and burgundy lipstick. I pulled on the shirt and jeans, marveling at how well they fit. The top was a champagne-colored satin tank-top with a neck line that collapsed artfully on itself to show off some of my cleavage, and the jeans were tight, high-waisted skinny jeans that made my butt look a bit bigger than it actually was. Finally, I slipped on the black, block heels that showed off my red toenails and little tattoo on the side of my left foot.

Feeling satisfied with the look I exited the bathroom and retuned to the bedroom to grab my wallet and phone. I immediately hugged Clara when I entered the room and thanked her profusely.

"These are gorgeous, thank you so much, Clara!" I said sincerely. The older woman just smiled at me, probably remembering what is was like to be my age and just waved her hand at me with a smile.

"It was nothing," she gave me a kind smile. "And I'm sure Kyle will love it." She gave me a little wink and gestured toward the door. "Shall we?" I nodded at her, not feeling like I needed to correct her about Kyle, and exited the room with her. Ginny had dubbed phase one of our plan 'get his attention' and it consisted of doing something that would grab the dragon tamer's attention and get him more interested in me. Phase two was supposed to be about showing him my interest in him and phase three was somehow getting him to realize we both wanted the same thing.

I hoped tonight went according to plan and that phase one went off without a hitch.


	9. Chapter 9

Loud, unfamiliar music flooded my ears as we stepped into the night club. Clara and Dimitri had entered first, with me following after them and Charlie right behind me, a warm hand burning a hole through my thin tank top.

"Drinks?" Charlie asked from behind me, his breath tickling my ear. I nodded with a smile and followed him over to the bar. We took our seats on the only two empty barstools in the middle of the bar and did our best not to knock into any of the other patrons squeezed together and hardly making enough room for us.

"I don't know any magical drinks," I said hesitantly as we settled into the two barstools. Charlie smiled and flagged down the bar tender, ignoring my question altogether.

"What'll it be?" the almost bored tone of the bartender called over the music.

"A firewhiskey and a golden snitch, please," Charlie said, sliding a few coins over the bar to the bartender before he walked away again.

"What's a golden snitch? I thought that was the little ball in the quidditch game," I said in confusion, but he only let out a chuckle and handed me my drink when the bartender brought them over at lightening speed.

"Just try it," he smiled. I took a small sip of the drink and tasted whiskey mixed with something a little sweet and something more sour or bitter tasting. Honestly it tasted like a whiskey sour, which I didn't mind, so I smiled and nodded my head to Charlie.

"You were right, this is good! Thanks, Charlie!" I said excitedly over the music. We sat there for a minute enjoying our drinks when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned around to see Kyle, the handsome, blonde, American dragon tamer from earlier smiling down at me.

"How about that dance, Oklahoma?" he whispered into my ear, making my body shiver slightly at the feeling of his hot breath on my ear. I gave him a smile and nodded, taking a large gulp of my drink and setting it down on the bar next to Charlie.

"Will you watch my drink?" I asked him with a smile, and he nodded with his own tight smile that didn't seem to reach his eyes. Kyle took my hand and led me out to the crowded dance floor, a slightly familiar pop song playing through the speakers. Kyle and I danced like the rest of the people in the club, squished close together and moving to the beat of the loud music. I could see Charlie sitting at the bar watching us from a gap in the crowd and decided that now was a good time to put my plan into action. Tonight was supposed be phase one, getting Charlie to notice me, really notice me, and what better way to do that than dancing with one of his attractive coworkers who was obviously interested in me.

I twirled around to face Charlie so that I could see him and he could see me as a new song came on, slightly slower with a little more base and it was definitely more sensual sounding. Predictably, Kyle came up closely behind me, resting his hands low on my hips as we swayed together to the music. I could feel the heat of his chest on my back, trapping my long hair between us as we swayed in place.

"What's a girl like you doing hanging around that British tool?" Kyle whispered into my ear as his hands splayed out over my midsection and down the side of my ribcage. "You could always come back to my place later, see some real magic I bet he can't show you." It was hard to stay focused on my original plan with a handsome American guy practically falling all over me, but I knew the type of guy Kyle was, a fuckboy just interested in a one night stand. Charlie was so much more than that. I also knew that nothing good would come of going home with Kyle, I had met enough of his type in college to know that that was a dangerous slope and it was best to avoid further interaction with him after tonight to be safe.

I locked eyes with the only dragon tamer I had an interest in across the bar and saw him watching us closely, his fist clenched by his side. His eyes were hooded in shadows and he looked like he was seconds away from ripping Kyle's head from his body. It wasn't until Kyle made the bold move to place an open-mouthed kiss to my neck did Charlie vault out of his seat. He barreled his way through the crowd, nearly knocking people over to get to us, and I felt a jolt of excitement course through my body.

"Mind if I cut in?" Charlie's deep baritone rumbled as he appeared next to us. I felt Kyle's grip on my hips tighten as he turned to face him.

"Actually man-" Kyle had started to say, but Charlie had already snaked an arm around my waist between us and snatched me out of Kyle's grasp and tight against his chest. Kyle looked stunned for a moment, but frowned and walked off to go dance with someone else easily enough.

"Hi, Charlie," I said sweetly, as if I had no idea what was going on. Suddenly Charlie flipped me around so that my back was to his front and he leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"Kyle is bad news, Clarke." I shook my head and turned to look up at him as we swayed in time to the beat of the music. The hard, warm planes of his muscled chest and abdomen were pressed tightly against me, and I nearly squirmed with delight as I felt something solid pressing against my lower back.

"I thought he was just being nice," I said with an innocent smile, feeling Charlie's hands grip my hips a little tighter than necessary.

"You don't know what goes through a guy like that's mind, sweetheart," Charlie said, his pelvis grinding into my backside just enough to be considered sexy but not distasteful.

"Like what?" I asked, pressing myself back against him ever so slightly as we continued dancing. Charlie's large hands nearly encompassed all of my hips with his fingers nearly touching in the middle, and used his grip on me to pull me tighter against him, making his desire for me very clear now.

"Like how sexy you look tonight," he whispered in my ear, causing shivers to run down my back. "Or what he'd like to do to this body of yours." I leaned my head back against him, resting it against his chest as I was too short for it to rest on his shoulder.

"No, I don't think so," I said slowly, closing my eyes as we continued to sway to the heavy bass of the loud pop music.

"You don't, huh?" Charlie challenged, his thumbs digging slightly into the skin of my lower back. I shook my head and looked up at him, his face appearing almost upside-down from my vantage point.

"He wouldn't go for a girl like me. After all, I'm just a muggle." This was a classic move I used to use on guys at parties back in my wild college days. If you said something negative about yourself, even if it was blatantly untrue, often guys had a little bit of a hero complex and tripped over themselves trying to compliment you.

I felt one of Charlie's hands leave my hip and travel slowly up my side, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear.

"Never say that. You are more beautiful, intelligent, and caring than most witches I know. He's not lucky enough to have you."

"You really think so, Charlie?" I looked up at him again, batting my eyelashes and watching his eyes darken with a kind of lustful hunger.

"Sweetheart, there isn't a bloke alive who could deny you." _Except you_, I thought to myself as the song changed to something a little more fast-paced. I turned around in his grasp and reached up to lace my arms around his neck, lifting up onto my tiptoes to whisper into his ear this time.

"Thanks, Charlie," I said in the most sultry tone I could, making sure to plant a slow kiss to his jaw as I leaned back again. Charlie, however, looked like he was in a sort of trance, so I grabbed his hands and led him back to the the bar where Dimitri and Clara were ordering more drinks. Phase one was working out better than I could have hoped.

* * *

"What's going on, Charlie? I haven't seen you act like this since Katya," Dimitri said as he and Charlie sipped their drinks in a corner booth while their girls were off dancing in the middle of the club, Charlie keeping a weathered eye out for Kyle.

"I don't know what you're on about," Charlie muttered, taking a swig from his firewhiskey. He watched Clarke dancing with Clara, her hips swinging to the beat of the music and her long curls swaying against her back. She was a vision on the dance floor, all long legs and mouthwatering hips, mahogany curls that caught the light just right and shone like a dark halo around her heart-shaped face. He felt his own trousers start to constrict as he thought about her sleeping in his bed tonight, those curls splayed around her, her fit, tanned, naked body wrapped around his silk sheets...

"You like that girl," Dimitri stated when Charlie finally returned his attention to his friend.

"No," Charlie scoffed, playing it off as best he could. "She's just a friend. She's only here so I can show her the dragons and then return her safely to my family in England." Dimitri eyed him carefully, a small smirk pulling at his lips.

"Charlie, I saw you rip that poor girl away from Kyle, Clara and I were dancing not too far away," he explained when Charlie gave him a surprised look.

"If it was any other woman dancing with Kyle you wouldn't have given two shits. But it was Clarke dancing with him." Charlie just studied the bottom of his glass, swirling the dredges of his firewhiskey in a circle.

"I'm supposed to be watching out for her, Dimitri. You know how Kyle is," he gave the other tamer a look, as if challenging him to disagree. Dimitri held up his hands in mock surrender, a little grin still etched in his face.

"You're right, everyone knows Kyle is a playboy. But so are you." Dimitri gave his friend a knowing smirk, but Charlie frowned and shook his head.

"Clarke is the kind of girl who needs a steady bloke in her life, someone to come home to. I'm not that guy, and I never will be. But I'm also nothing like Kyle. Maybe we both have had our fair share of bed partners, but I've heard from Katya that he doesn't care if they're drunk or underage, that he takes them back to his cabin and then tosses them out in the morning to find their own way home. I'm nothing like that, but I still can't be the perfect husband material Clarke wants."

"When are you going to grow up, Weasley? You won't find another woman, muggle or not, that complements you like she does. You said so yourself, she loves hearing about dragons and even helped with Norberta, she isn't afraid of magic like most other muggles, she'd damn attractive... What more could you ask for? I haven't known her for more than a day and I can already tell that this one is different. There's something about her, Charlie, something you can't let go of just yet."

"She's a muggle, Dimitri!" Charlie nearly bellowed at his long time friend, his ears burning with embarrassment and frustration.

"My father was a muggle, what are you saying?" Charlie hung his head and tried to rub some of the tension from his furrowed brow.

"My life is here, her's is in America. I can't leave the reserve or just give up dragons to play house-husband. I can't live in a muggle neighborhood, dress like one, talk like one, send our kids to muggle school. What if they turn out not to be witches or wizards?" Charlie grouched, finishing the last of his drink. Before Dimitri could respond, Clara came up to their table, swaying a bit on her feet and setting down her fizzy drink.

"What are we talking about over here, boys?" her slightly raspy voice asked with a lazy smile. Dimitri pulled up an arm to rest it around his new fiancée's shoulders as she settled into the booth.

"Charlie is in denial about his feelings for Clarke," Dimitri tossed a devious smirk at his friend, whereas Clara looked surprised.

"You have feelings for Clarke, Charlie?" she asked quickly, her eyes gazing into his intently.

"No, I just-"

"Yes, he does, he just doesn't want to admit it." Dimitri cut him off. Clara looked worried for a second and glanced over to the dance floor, her eyes obviously searching the crowd for someone. Charlie followed her gaze, but was unable to tell what she was looking at.

"What is it?" Charlie asked in confusion. Clara shared a concerned look with Dimitri before answering.

"Well, I got a little too warm while dancing and wanted to get another drink, but Clarke wanted to dance some more, so I offered to go find her partner from earlier. I think she might have been expecting you, but I found Kyle for her instead. I told him Clarke was expecting another dance and... now I don't see either of them. They were over there just a second ago, I saw them dancing right before I came over here from the bar." Clara gave the two men worried looks, feeling awful about the misunderstanding. She had seen Kyle flirting with Clarke in the mess hall and just assumed that he was who she was dressing up for and wanted to dance with.

Charlie could barely hear the music over the sound of blood rushing by his ears, his mind focused solely on finding Clarke. His eyes scanned the dance floor, but there was no sign of either Clarke or Kyle. He got up from the table, not hearing Dimitri or Clara's words as they called after him and he bolted into the throng of sweaty dancers. He was tall enough to see over most of the club's patrons and spotted the short blonde hair of one American dragon tamer scurrying out a side door, tugging a brunette woman along behind him.

He saw red as he slowly weaved through the mass of undulating people, making his way to the far right side of the club and yanking the heavy, metal door nearly off it's hinges.

"Kyle, stop." He heard Clarke's distant voice say as he searched the darkened alleyway.

"Let's just apparate back to my place," Kyle's suave voice suggested, making Charlie panic as he remembered his own experience apparating with Clarke. Charlie ran down the alley, spotting two dark figures at the far end, one pressed against the cold bricks of the building and the other leaning over them, caging them there with their arms.

Approaching the pair, Charlie grabbed the back of Kyle's shirt as he planted a sloppy, open-mouthed kiss to her neck, yanking him off of Clarke and sending him flying down the alley where a bag of rubbish broke his fall.

"Clarke," Charlie gasped in relief, pulling the woman off the wall and into his embrace. He wrapped his arms tightly around the smaller woman, cradling her head to his chest as his cheek rested atop her soft, brown hair.

"Charlie," her shaky voice whispered as her hands rested against his chest. Her whole body was shaking slightly and Charlie knew it was time for him to get her home.

"Charlie, Clarke!" a voice called from the mouth of the alley and Charlie turned to find Dimitri and Clara running toward them. They stopped when they spotted Kyle trying to pull himself out of the garbage pile and called out to them.

"You both go, we'll take care of this one," Dimitri cast a menacing glare down at his fellow dragon tamer, wand pointed at his throat. Charlie nodded and lifted Clarke into his arms, as he often did, passing the three tamers and entering the dimly lit street once again.

"Are you alright?" Charlie finally asked, looking down at Clarke, who's head rested on his shoulder, her hair tumbling over his arm. She gave him a small nod, her body having stopped shaking and her eyes clear.

"I'm okay," she responded quietly. "Just a little shaken up." The sad look in her eyes made Charlie feel like collapsing into a puddle while at the same time bolstering him as it was his job to take care of her and protect her.

"Let's get you home," he said softly, looking around for a place that was open at this hour that might have a floo they could use.

"Charlie?" He looked down at the woman in his arms.

"Yeah?"

"I can walk," she said with a little smile. Charlie blinked a few times, registering her words and nodded dumbly. He slowly set her feet on the ground, his hands hovering on her upper arms just in case.

"So what do we do now? We didn't drive here, and even if we did I don't think either of us should drive right now," she said thoughtfully. Charlie thought about it for a minute or two, trying to come up with a plan to get home that didn't involve apparating. He supposed they could call a taxi, or maybe the club had a floo?

"We could try the club, see if they have a floo?" he suggested finally, taking her hand in his as he lead them back in the direction of the club's main entrance. They walked in the front doors and Charlie easily found an employee.

"Does the club have a floo we can use?" he asked the man, who nodded and pointed to a side room beside the unused coat racks. Charlie nodded his thanks to the man and tugged Clarke over the old fireplace tucked back in the dusty corner.

"Here, you go first. Just say 'Charlie's cabin'," he said, handing her the canister of floo powder sitting on the floor by the fireplace. She nodded and grabbed a handful, stepping into the fireplace and did exactly as he said. Once the green flames died down he stepped in as well, calling out the name of his cabin.

When he stepped into his living room he saw Clarke seated on the couch waiting for him. She looked so small sitting there, her shoulders slightly hunched forward and her head down as she studied her high-heeled shoes. He felt a tug at his heart when he looked at her, and all he wanted to do in that moment was to hold her and do everything in his power to make her feel better.

"Are you sure you're alright, Clarke?" he asked hesitantly as he took a seat beside her on the lumpy couch that was to be his bed for the next week. He watched her nod slowly and eventually turn her face up to look at him properly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I think I'm more disappointed in myself than anything else," she sighed, causing Charlie to furrow his brows in confusion. Surely she didn't think what had happened was her fault?

"What do you mean?" he asked, angling himself toward her a little. She let out a heavy sigh and rested her elbows on her knees and folded her hands under her chin, which also just so happened to give Charlie an unencumbered view of a very nice pair of breasts as her tank op gaped forward.

"I've taken self-defense classes, I know exactly what to do if that scenario were to happen, but... I don't know. For some reason I just froze... like I couldn't move a muscle, even though I knew how to get away from him. I was like a deer in headlights."

"Headlights?" Charlie asked with a befuddled look and Clarke glanced up at him with a half smile.

"They're the lights on the hood of a car. It's an expression we use when someone freezes in the face of danger rather than fleeing or fighting. When a deer is crossing a road and it sees the headlights of a car, they often freeze, like I did tonight." A sour look came over her and she turned her face to stare back at the ground. Charlie knew now what she meant and could sympathize with her. The first time he had been caught in a sticky situation with an angry mother dragon trapping him against a rock face without his wand, he froze. If it weren't for Dimitri and some of the other tamers, he would have been burnt to a crisp.

"Clarke, look at me," Charlie said softly, letting a hand rest gently on her shoulder. When she brought her head up again to look at him, her gave her a reassuring smile and stood up from the couch, a hand outstretched for her to take.

"It's okay if you froze tonight. Hell, I've done it in front of fire-breathing dragons before. There's nothing to be ashamed of, and that situation should never have happened in the first place. I'll be sure to talk to Tavish about it in the morning and-"

"No!" Clarke gasped as he pulled her up from the couch. "It's fine, Charlie. Let's just forget tonight ever happened and move on, okay?" Her pleading look made it impossible for him to do anything but agree, and so he nodded his head reluctantly.

"Alright, but I swear, Clarke, if he so much as looks at you again..." he trailed off, giving her a serious look, but Clarke gave him a little grin and nodded at him.

"Then you can go all alpha-male on him if you want, but until then let's just forget about it. Besides, I think I'm tired now and just want to call it a night," she said, a yawn coming on as if to prove her point.

"Are we still doing that lay-in thing in the morning?" she said over another yawn. Charlie chuckled and walked her over to his bedroom door.

"Yes, we are stilling having a lie-in tomorrow, so you can just wake me up whenever you want go for a run." He smiled as she opened the door to the master bedroom.

"I don't know if I want to run in the morning after tonight, maybe tomorrow evening would be better," she suggested and he nodded in understanding.

"I think that's a better idea. Good night, Clarke," Charlie's deep voice rumbled as Clarke replied in kind and shut the door behind her, leaving him out in the hall. He rubbed the back of his neck as he pivoted around and made his way back to the couch, wondering to himself if this woman was going to be the worst thing to happen to him or the best thing. Maybe a little bit of both, he pondered as he grabbed a blanket and flopped onto the couch before the dark, heavy arms of sleep wrapped around him to pull him into the peaceful depths of slumber.


End file.
